Fearless
by Shadows4Twilight
Summary: A young female Arrancar finds out that what she knew is subject to change. People she trusted may not be trustworthy. She may find love with in an unlikely source. OC X Undecided I don't own Bleach or it's characters.
1. Prologue

Fearless

Prologue

White sands stretch out before her. Turning her hand slightly in either direction reveals more of the blistering white sand. The everlasting darkness of Hueco Mundo surrounds her lean animal-like body as if it wishes to suffocate her. The only shapes that break the landscape are the occasional rock. Nothing moves for what seems like miles. The light reflecting from the surface of the sand comes from the moon that rests lazily in the sky. To her eyes, the moon never moves.

Pains of a hunger that never leaves interrupts her thoughts. Twisting her animal-like body to her right, she walks in hopes of finding a meal to satisfy the intense pain.

* * *

The adjucha rips off another mouthful of meat from the unfortunate hollow that attacked him. Finishing off the last bite, he turns to let unusual blue eyes roam the white sands. Nothing catches his attention. With a snort of kinds, he turns his panther body away from the scene he created. The lasting hunger sated….for now.

Without a conscious thought of what his body is doing, he begins to run. Only the sound of four paws being cushioned by the sand and even breathing reach his sensitive ears. He loves the feel of his muscles tensing and relaxing due to the exercise. If he could, he would run forever. However, this is not meant to be as he is once again attacked. With a vicious snarl, he turns to face the new threat.

* * *

Sickness, disgust, and sorrow feel her. Not wishing to prolong the unnatural ritual, she concentrates on doing the actions. Rip, chew, swallow, and breathe. Time passes slowly for her.

Finally, after an eternity, the Hollow is finished with her meal. She is free from the chains that bind her to her hunger for the time being. With a shake of her body, the Hollow turns away from the mess she created in the pure looking sand. Bile rises in her throat at the thought of what her meal consisted of.

* * *

Flattered, not that it would show in his body language and blue eyes, the Adjucha stares at the five Hollows before him.

Him? Their king? The thought was almost laughable to him. He wanted to fight and live alone. However, he knows help is needed to survive in this desolate world. Fixing a look of anger upon his face, he snaps his jaws shut.

"Fine. Follow if you wish. However, don't stand in my way," his gravelly voice rings out clear and cold in the silence that had fallen over the Hollows. Without waiting for their answers, he turns and begins a long walk with a lazy pace.

There was no need to hurry. His stomach was full. It'd be a while before he needed to eat. He had plenty of time to find a worthy meal. Blue eyes are cast over his shoulder to look at the Hollows who now follow his every move. It was plenty of time to test out each and every one of his new 'subjects'. His lips curl revealing long, sharp teeth.

He was excited at the prospect they had offered him. The smirk on his panther face reveals how much.

* * *

Shinigami, Soul Reapers. Never has she seen one standing in Hueco Mundo. Nor has she ever thought of what he was offering her.

Becoming a human once again, or as close to it as she could get. She wanted to leap at the chance, yet she was cautious. Caution has kept her alive all these years.

"Well?" Her eyes flick to the brown haired Soul Reaper. Aizen. That's what he called himself. A spur of the moment choice decides her future.

"Yes, make me an Arrancar. In return, I will serve you." Her soft voice is muffled slightly by her wolf-like mask.

White light surrounds her body. Blinding pain follows. It hurts so much she can't even scream. It feels like her body is being pulled apart and rearranged. Her mask breaks free.

The pain, the stretching, and the light cease as suddenly as it came. Cold penetrates her legs, bottom, and the palm of her hands contrasting with the rough texture of the sand she'd been in previously. For a moment, she wonders where she is and how she got there.

Slowly, her eyes open to meet a white tiled floor. Voices drift into her ears. Rising her eyes, they travel up a white uniform. They finally arrive and rest on Aizen's face.

"Welcome to Las Noches, comrade," he says with a comforting and warm smile. "What do you call yourself?"

Without hesitation, she answers in a soft, but confident voice.

"My name is Asami….Akatsuki, Asami."


	2. Chapter 1 Loyality

**Fearless**

**Chapter 1: Loyalty**

Arrancars seem to be described in about two words: bloodthirsty fighters. Fighting till they drop from exhaustion seems to be a common theme among the ex-hollows. Even the lower level Arrancars have this trait among them.

If one thinks about it, this is understandable. After all, they are an army. An army has to be violent in order to be effective. Aizen chose well when searching for the strongest warriors to rank the highest in his army. Each of the ten Espada is strong in their own way. Many, if not all, of the lower Arrancars fear them. Through that fear shines respect.

More importantly, Aizen is feared and in complete control of the Arrancars he created. By his side, Tousen is next on the feared list. The dark skinned Ex-Soul Reaper doesn't seem to shy at the thought of getting physical for others to see his beliefs carried out. Gin, however, is just hated. His constant smile and sly wit keep many around him wary of him, as well as keeping his reputation among the Arrancars very low. Not many would be foolish enough to provoke his temper. They prefer to keep their heads attached and their organs working properly.

Gin is the only one able to find Asami's hiding place. It's a simple white room without any furnishings. A large window fills up a quarter of one wall, while the only door to the room rests in the middle of the opposite wall. The window's sill reaches out enough for Asami to sit comfortably. When she arrives, she opens the window a couple of inches to allow a slightly breeze to cool the stuffy room. Her suspicion on how he'd found the obscure room is; he had followed her through the twisting and turning hallways. His answer to her questioning look was that he accidently thought she was someone else, and he needed to inform them of an important decision from Aizen. A daily ritual was born after that incident.

A faint noise pulls the daydreaming Arrancar to the present. Turning her head, Asami's brown and blue eyes catch sight of a familiar pair of sandals.

"Good morning, Gin-sama," Asami greets politely. Her soft voice echoing off the empty walls and reaching her own ears distorted.

"Morin', Asami-chan," Gin greets, the creepy, ever present smile not faltering even as he speaks.

Turning away once again, she watches Hueco Mundo from the window. As usual, Gin sits beside her on the window sill. Neither talk; they simply watch and listen to the occasional howls of Hollows.

Today has a different feel to her. It's as if he wants to talk about something, yet he doesn't know how to begin. She is proven right on the difference when Gin speaks.

"Ya know, you'd make a great Fraccion to one of our Espada."

She holds her breath for a moment thinking over possibilities. An idea springs forth that will lighten the serious mood.

"Who to though?" Asami questions thoughtfully. She is feigning such innocence that immediately it immediately catches Gin's full attention. He turns away from the window to look at her. "Maybe to Grimmjow? Or Nnoitra seems like a good choice. Oh, and there's Szayel as well."

"Nah, they're too…" he trails off as if searching for the right words to describe the wilder Espada.

"Violent? Bloodthirsty? Mad?" They both share a laugh at the expense of others. After a moment, he shifts drawing her strange gaze from the landscape to him. She blinks slowly when sees that he has stood.

"Don't forget there is Stark, Harribel, or even Ulquiorra. They'd all keep track of ya," Gin says. She sees his lips move as if he added something that he'd prefer to keep to himself.

Curious as to what he had said, Asami opens her mouth to speak, yet the silver-haired ex-soul reaper has already left. Pondering his words for a while longer, she stands to start the long walk back to her simple room.

Sure, working for Harribel wouldn't be bad. Asami heard the third Espada always took care of her Fraccion. They were rarely hurt and had her protection when things got rough. Stark, despite being very lazy, seemed to care for his single fraccion. Ulquiorra was different from the others. She inwardly shutters at the thought of him. He seemed so cold, yet interestingly enough, she found that she wanted to at least befriend him. In her eyes, he seemed so sad. Never once had she seen him smile. She would have approached him, but one big problem stood in her way. This problem went by the name Yammy.

Asami was terrified of the giant Arrancar. Though Yammy had never done anything to show he even acknowledged her existence, she still got the feeling if he was provoked, he would kill her in a fit of rage. In her opinion, it was wiser to avoid contact with him.

She stops before a white door. Without proper knowledge, it would be easy to mix up the serving Arrancar's rooms. There were no marks to distinguish who slept in what room. At first, it was overwhelming for her. Now, Asami knew which room belonged to her. Her hand hovers over the doorknob for a moment.

Where does her loyalty lie?

Well, to an extent, Aizen holds her loyalty. After all, he did create her. Though she would never voice it, she admired Grimmjow's willfulness. He doesn't seem to fear anything. As for who holds her utmost respect, she'd have to go with…her thoughts are cut short as voices erupt through the calm atmosphere. Low-level Arrancars begin to fill the small, alley-like hallway.

Shuffling, shoving, yells, and grunts of pain invade Asami's senses. Almost instantly, Claustrophobia kicks in, and she escapes into the solitude of her room. Closing her mismatched eyes, she leans back against the door, as if to keep any and all of the noisy serving Arrancars from entering her haven.

The furnishings of her small room consist of the customary white walls. A small bed complete with a white blanket, sheets, and pillow rest against the wall opposite the door. A small three drawer dresser rests against another wall. The remaining wall is has a small barred window high above her head. The wall that contains decoration is the same one that contains the door. Drawn pictures hang on that wall, easily visible from her bed. Each drawn with such reality it's startling. Many faces adorn the drawings. A few drawings are faces she sees every day. Others are faces that have come to her in dreams.

With a tired shuffle, Asami's feet follow the familiar path to the simple bed. Spreading her arms straight out, she falls face down onto her mattress. What feels like a million thoughts run through her head. With eyes remaining closed, she tries to reign in her erratic thoughts.

"_Stop it!"_

"_Little brat! I'll teach you to tell on me!"_

The color of red fills the darkness behind her eyelids. Every muscle in her body tenses. She tries to push aside the disturbing voices. A different set of voices takes their place. Unlike the clear voices before, these voices overlap each other.

"_Run!"_

"_I'm scared…"_

"_You're a fool!"_

"_Why do you not protect yourself?"_

"_Fine! Turn away from us! You always shut us out! Why don't you trust us? Why don't you love us? That's ok! We hate you, too!"  
_

Her eyes snap open. A hazy image is burned into her mind. The final words echo hollowly in her head. Her breath catches in her throat. White searing pain runs through her head. Another pain rips at her heart like a wild animal. This brutal pain has been with her since her 'birth' as an Arrancar. It has only occurred at night, before Asami falls asleep. She doesn't understand what any of the images that make an occasional appearance mean. Nor does she recognize the voices. What she does know is that they are memories. Asami isn't quite sure if they are of her human life or of her Hollow life.

A thought from earlier rises up from the pain again. Slowly, Asami rolls onto her back, almost afraid a small movement might cause a worse set of pain. Her eyes open to stare at a blank ceiling. The question of who has holds her loyalty is brought to the front of her mind again.

"Loyalty…Gin-sama." Completely unaware of voicing part of her thoughts, she slides into a much needed state of unawareness.

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His hand rests gently on her forehead. He silently wishes he could take her pain away. An unusually gentle smile spreads at the sound of her voice whispering throughout the dark room.

Eyes flick to the fragmented mask that runs alongside the upper right side of her jaw. Running a hand along it, the sensitive pads on his fingertips feel ever dip forming teeth in the white bone-like material. His hand stops before the long fang at the front of the broken piece.

Removing his hand, he glances around the room. The pictures are barely spared a glance before he looks down at the female Arrancar once again. She'd be beautiful if she tried. Instead, she settles for looking plain. The more he thought about it, the more he realized it was for the best. She'd get less unwanted attention that way.

Her Hollow mask consisted of a wolf-like upper jaw running along her right cheekbone. It runs from her ear to the edge of her mouth containing a full set of molars including the fang. For the width, it runs up just below her eye. Brown hair spreads around her face like a dark halo. It always hangs down and frames her small face. The color of her hair matches her left eye. As for her clothing, it covers more than it shows. The clothing consists of a jacket reaching from her collar bone down to mid-thigh. Her pants are slightly baggy covering her booted feet. Once again, he believes it's for the best. After all, more often than not male Arrancars are less then gentle when it comes to women.

His attention is snapped out of its' musings by movement. Yanking his hand back, he fears she has woken. Yet, as he watches, she only moves to a more comfortable position on the bed. Deciding he better leave before she wakes up, he starts toward the door.

Halfway out the door, he pauses. Without looking back, he says something in a whisper. He is gone the moment the words leave his mouth. All he leaves behind is his lingering touch and encouraging words.

"Gin Ichimaru. Wise choice, girl."


	3. Chapter 2 Alliances

Hey, I don't own Bleach or it's characters (I forgot to say that on the last couple :( ). Anyway I'd like to know what you all think of it! Oh and if you think of a pairing that would sound good feel free to tell me! Enjoy!

* * *

**Fearless**

**Chapter 2: Alliances**

A large hand clasps onto Asami's shoulder, startling her out of a dreamless sleep. Instinctively, she swings a fist at the intruder. Unfortunately, they seem to be faster. Her smaller wrist is encaged within the hand that had touched her shoulder. Her second hand flies out only to get knocked aside by the intruder's free hand. Angry mismatched eyes open and lift to meet amused medium brown ones. Surprise almost immediately dominates her face. After a moment, Asami pushes her friend away.

"Issei, how many times have I told you not to sneak up on me," Asami mutters with eyes narrowed at his figure looming over her. She sits up forcing Issei to straighten from his bent position. Closing her eyes completely, she runs fingers through her hair in irritation at the lost sleep.

Her answer is a smile she doesn't see. Reaching out, his hand brushes gently against her shoulder. It's his way of apologizing. Her eyes open to look at him tiredly.

He is short for a male, only a couple inches taller than Asami herself. His medium brown eyes radiate whatever emotions he happens to be feeling at that instant. Brown bangs, the color of his eyes, reach the middle of his cheek. The rest of his hair is black and looks brushed almost to perfection. The neck of his uniform reaches his jaw line. The rest of it flows down in a form fitting fashion. The sleeves come down covering the top part of his hands. This arrangement leaves him free to grip without the hassle of fighting with the cloth. It also hides whatever he happens to be gripping. He chose not to personalize his pants, so he wears the standard issue. His mask comes down between his eyes, covering where his nose should be. It fans out beneath both eyes resting not far above his upper lip. A single molar rests on the right side of the mask. Beneath his right arm rests a chalk board complete with chalk.

Asami frowns slightly, while she stares at it. Issei had lost his voice during his transformation from a Hollow to an Arrancar.

Two fingers tap her chin, causing her to look up. As always, she is struck by how handsome he is. His eyes flick down and hover for a moment. Before Asami has a chance to look, green and white fill her vision. A few blinks later, she recognizes his elegant cursive handwriting.

'You worry too much. I told you before, it doesn't bother me. Aizen-sama told me to fetch you.'

She glances over the miniature chalk board to meet his eyes. His face shows nothing. It doesn't have to; his eyes speak for him. The concern in them is enough to make her heart plummet to her stomach. Something was wrong, and he knew it.

Without taking her eyes off him, Asami slowly stands up. Running fingers through her hair, she gets out the worst of the knots. After a brief staring contest, Asami steps around him and walks calmly from the room. They fall into step together; Asami leading the way to the 'throne room', and Issei following on her right a couple steps behind.

Roughly halfway to their destination, a whinny voice rings out making Asami cringe and Issei tense.

"Awww, look at what we have here, Maria. Two love birds strutting down the halls." Not wishing to face the newcomers, Asami takes her time in turning around to face the two females.

The one who had spoken seemed to believe all the male Arrancars loved her and her body. To Asami, she was pretty; however Asami would say she'd seen prettier humans and soul reapers. Alicia was what she'd called herself upon her birth as an Arrancar. Her hair reaches just past her shoulders. Asami had always thought she dyed it, because it was three very different colors. The roots and first color is a light brown that fades to orange a third of the way down. The orange then fades leaving the last third a bright yellow. Her bangs end just above her dark brown eyes. Her Hollow mask is broken into two parts. The first part of the broken mask is a clip, with teeth jutting out the top, rests on the left side of her head. The second part is choker covering a majority of her neck. Her Zanpakuto is short, only about the length of her fore arm, and the hilt sticks up above left ear. The hilt is a reddish purple color. The guard is the same brown color as her hair. Her clothing V's down revealing a bit of cleavage to the viewer. Beneath her cleavage, it opens in an upside down V revealing quite a bit of her stomach. The rest of it is tight to her body showing her every curve. Long ago, she'd attempted to catch Ulquiorra's attention by changing her out fit to look like his, so her jacket has the tails like his. Her skirt reaches down to her ankles, and her feet is covered by black socks and sandals. Her Hollow hole is just below her collar bone.

Asami can't stand the girl. Alicia picks on every other girl besides Maria, her cohort. It seems Alicia believes that every male needs to just throw themselves at her. The reason she picks on Asami more than any other female is; Asami is friends with Alicia's newest crush.

Asami's eyes flick to the 'tag along'. Maria was a purple freak. Almost everything she could color was purple. Her hair reaching down to her mid-back is purple in color. She'd painted her nails purple, as well. The hilt and guard on her Zanpakuto is the same shade of purple as her hair. Her eyes are black in color contrasting slightly with her purple hair. Her Hollow mask is also split into two pieces. The first piece stretches across her forehead; the second piece runs along her left cheek the width of her eye and contains a set of teeth. Her clothing consists of a black band covering her rather large chest with the white sleeves of the jacket running down her long arms. The entirety of her stomach, along with her mid and lower back, is left bare for all to see. Halfway up her neck, the neckline stops. Her skirt is ruffled and layered all the way down to the middle of her shins. Black socks cover what is left of her leg and covering her feet is high heeled purple sandals.

"You know, Alicia I'd love to stay and chat with you, but I have to go visit Aizen-sama," Asami says, not bothering to hide the venom in her voice.

"Oh, shut up, little whore. I know that you're using Aizen-sama's name to escape. He wouldn't want to associate with someone as weak and stupid as you are," Alicia snaps, while she reaches out to slap Asami. Before the hand connects, another larger hand wraps itself around Alicia's wrist, effectively halting the would-be attack. Everyone present freezes. Each recognizes the powerful spiritual pressure instantly. Three pairs of respectful eyes turn toward the source of the power. The remaining pair of eyes widen in what appears to be either fear or embarrassment.

Releasing Alicia's wrist, the hand finds its' way back into the pocket of Asami's savior. He stands taller than any of the assembled Arrancars, with pale skin contrasted only by green tear-like marks streaking down his face and slightly messy black hair. His vibrant green eyes don't seem to see any of the people around him. Instead, they are locked onto the floor before him.

Asami chances a look at Alicia. Satisfaction spreads at the sight of the Alicia becoming paler by the minute. A soft smile spreads across her face; she turns to look back at Ulquiorra only to have the smile fall off her face once she finds that the green eyes have focused upon her. Now four sets of eyes are focused on Asami. Two sets have an angry hue about them. Without warning, a large hand wraps around her upper arm tugging her away from the others.

"You were summoned by Aizen-sama. You were expected a half an hour ago, Arrancar," a soft, yet intimidating voice rings breaking the uncomfortable silence. A strange, strangled-like noise causes Asami to turn her head to look at the source. Her brain barely registers that Issei is following her. Her main focus is on Alicia. The female wears a variety of emotions. Anger, fear, and complete humiliation are the most recognizable.

Just as suddenly as it had happened, the hand on her arm disappears. Looking up, Asami stares at Ulquiorra for a moment. A sudden tug on the back of her shirt causes her to jump. Reluctant to look away from the fourth Espada, Asami stares for a moment longer before looking around herself for Issei. Like before, green and white fill her vision. Elegant writing is sprawled across the chalk board. It takes Asami a moment to focus enough to read what is written.

'I'm sorry for what happened with Alicia. I know she's only like that to you because of **him. **I also wish I knew what was going to happen when we meet Aizen-sama. If I did, I'd know what to advise you about or wither it was time to run. I have a bad feeling about this meeting. It's like it's going to change everything.**' **

Asami chuckles at his concern, than she pushes the chalk board down to look and winks slyly at him. She dismisses the issue with a wave of her hand, before she makes a face at him. Issei's stern, worried face slowly cracks into a smile before his whole frame shakes with silent laughter. A grin spreads over Asami's face.

Before either of the friends realizes it, they are standing before the large doors leading to the dreaded room. Both share an anxious glance between themselves, before their eyes fall once again upon the door. Not one of the three makes a move for the door. They don't have to move at all, since the large double doors swing open on their own. Before them stands Tousen; a glare fixed on his dark face. Asami feels as if he's staring straight at her, yet his blindness makes it impossible for this to occur.

"How long did you intend to make Aizen-sama wait?" Tousen asks. He doesn't bother to wait for an answer. He simply turns and disappears within the spacious room once again. Following his lead, the three step into the "throne room".

Asami shivers at the feel of powerful spiritual pressures bearing down on her. One glance around the room shows it contains all the Espada along with a few of their Fraccion. Every set of eyes in the room are almost instantly honed in on Asami. A terrible feeling settles in her stomach. Issei is right; nothing good was going to come of this meeting. Something was going to change, and it'd affect her existence.


	4. Chapter 3 A Changed Fate

Welcome back :)! Thanks for reading. So, I appreciate your review Kira michi ^.^. Once again, I'd like to hear what you guys think of . Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach or it's characters (or a couple of the OCs found here. They were a friends idea for this story).

**Fearless**

**Chapter 3: A Changed Fate**

"What are we here for, Aizen-sama? Are we here to stare at that little bitch?" A rude and obnoxious voice rings out. The cold words echo almost endlessly off the white walls; the words cause Asami to feel even worse than she already did. Looking toward the owner of the voice, cold blue eyes lock with blue and brown eyes. His eyes are hard and cold yet shine with an unreadable emotion. For a moment, she wonders what could be going through the mind of the slightly crazy sixth Espada.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~***Flashback***~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_The wolf-like Hollow almost has her belly touching the ground holding a slightly defensive position. Her lips are curled in a warning snarl; eyes are locked onto the enemy. She knows she has no chance against him, despite the both of them being adjuchas. Despite his small size, he radiates power with almost every movement of his muscles._

_"I didn't come to eat your food nor do I have any wish to fight you," her distorted voice reaches his sensitive ears. He lifts his head with a snort of pure arrogance as his unusual blue eyes watch her. Slowly, he begins to circle her; it's almost as if he's judging the threat to himself. Her common yellow eyes look away from him as he begins to speak in his gravely, distorted voice when he comes to a stop before her once again._

_"Then why are you here? Answer me that. You considered attacking one of the Hollows that follow me, did you not? After all, they'd make a fairly good meal. I wouldn't bother denying it. I saw you stalking him."_

_Her eyes wander from the sand back to his cold blue ones. A short nod is the only answer he receives from her. Her head once again turns away from him, while she remains in her position. He snarls not satisfied with her meager answer, and he steps toward her placing a large paw on her shoulder planning to push a more satisfactory answer from her trembling body. Acting out of not only instinct but also self-preservation, she lashes out; teeth narrowly miss his right foreleg. Reflex makes him lash out with claws. Yellow eyes widen as the claws approach rapidly, only one thought passes through her head._

'_I'm about to become food for him.' What happens next is so fast that the wolf Hollow barely any time to think, let alone react. A loud roar pierces the scene, and a blur latches itself onto the panther-like enemy, and both go rolling across the sand. Disengaging himself from his opponent, the Rottweiler Hollow snarls hostilely at his opponent, and he circles around the panther Hollow looking for a better angle in which to attack._

_Panic coats her tongue in an acidic taste, and she leaps up from her defensive position without even a slight thought of protecting herself. She knows her companion doesn't stand a chance against this new adjucha. She has to stop them from attacking each other. Ultimately, she has to stop her only companion from becoming the panther Hollow's next meal._

_"Issei! Enough! Stand down this instant!" she bellows taking only two steps toward the two._

_"He plans to eat you," the Rottweiler begins. His voice is rich and so deep it seems to rumble straight out of his broad chest._

_"I said 'enough'," the Wolf Hollow almost growls out._

_Both turn to look at her, the Panther Hollow snorts arrogantly. He watches her for an instant before turning away. He wasn't in the mood to fight and something about the female perked his interest. He walks toward the discussed rendezvous point. He had a feeling he'd see the female again. Her voice breaks him from his thoughts with a simple question._

_"What's your name?" He stops, foot poised to take a step. Slowly turning his head and lowering his paw to the grainy ground below, he looks back at the two canine creatures. The Rottweiler only a couple inches taller than the wolf._

_"Grimmjow. Grimmjow Jeagerjacks." Seeing her mouth open to say her name or reply, he's not sure, he shakes his head. "Look, girl, I don't care what your name is or what you have to say. You wouldn't even make a good meal. Nor would you pet dog."_

_With that said, Grimmjow starts into a lazy run leaving the two behind. One canine is bristled in anger; the other wears with amusement and curiousity._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~***Flashback End***~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Asami looks away from the cold eyes. Instead, she searches for the man she really wants to see. Only disappointment greets her.

"You may leave Issei," Aizen's smooth voice catches the attention of the assembled Arrancars. Asami's eyes widen at the thought of being left alone, and she turns to her companion. Her eyes are almost pleading him not to leave, but full understanding shines through. He hesitates for a moment; his eyes stay locked onto hers, than he bows to Aizen and exits the room.

Asami takes a shaky breath and kneels before them. A large hand finds its way between her shoulder blades. Tensing, she turns her head slightly to look at the person. Silver hair and a creepy smile fill her vision. Happiness and relief flood through her, creating a matching smile on her face.

"Aw, Asami-chan, there's no need to bow like that. We wanna see your pretty face," Gin whispers into her ear. With the hand slipping beneath her arm, he yanks Asami to her feet. "There isn't nothin' to be afraid of. I'll be here with ya."

Relief settles in her stomach, along with renewed vigor. She lifts her head up locking eyes with a bored looking Aizen. The moment their eyes lock, Aizen leans forward with a slight amusement in his eyes.

"Gin expressed concern over your well-being. I have thought of it and decided that you will be placed beneath one of the Espada as a Fraccion," Aizen says, leaning back in his chair and tilting his head so the lower part of his cheek rests against his knuckles. "We were going to just place you beneath one of our choosing, but Gin believes that's a little harsh. What do you think, Asami? Tell me who'd you like to work for directly."

Dismay at the thought of being forced, Asami looks around at the assembled Espada. Some look annoyed at being there, and probably more annoyed when they found out the reason; others look either bored or apathetic over the cause. She doesn't even want to become a Fraccion, yet she was about to be forced to. Briefly, she wonders why she should have to become one. Swallowing hard, Asami closes her eyes and picks a name at random. Before she even has a chance to say the name, a deep, gruff voice sounds out over the silence.

"I have no need of any more Fraccion. Mine are enough for me, Aizen…….-sama," Barragan says. Asami opens her eyes to look at the old Arrancar. The arrogant look on his face and the crown just add to his aged figure. Without thinking about it, she's silently relieved. She couldn't stand his behavior. He seemed to believe he was better than any other Hollow or even Aizen himself. Another voice breaks her from her thoughts.

"I don't need a Fraccion, Aizen-sama. They will only hinder me," Zommari rumbles. Her eyes begin to wander to him, but another voice draws her gaze away.

"If you want nothing to do with this, then leave." Tousen steps out from the shadows. "We have no use of you if you are not willing."

Footsteps ring out, and the door slams. The remaining people inside are silent for a couple heart wrenching moments. Asami's eyes once again lock with blue ones. For a moment, she silently wishes she'll end up beneath him. He'd seemed like a big brother to her. Asami's eyes widen as she realizes what she is thinking. Turning her eyes from his, she looks over the remaining Espada. Surprise takes over as she realizes how many are left.

Half of the Espada had slipped away before she'd even realized it. Yammy seemed to be contemplating leaving, as did Stark. Harribel seemed to be observing Asami, as if judging wither the serving Arrancar is worth the effort.

"Well, Asami, it seems your choices are slimmed down drastically. However," Aizen slowly rises. "I believe-"

"I'll take her." Asami almost smiles. There seems to be only one person left who'd rudely interrupt Aizen. Grimmjow stands from his sitting position. He starts toward Asami, believing he's statement would follow through. Unfortunately, Aizen didn't believe it was such a good idea.

"No, Grimmjow. I was thinking more along the lines of Ulquiorra," Aizen says coolly. All eyes focus on Ulquiorra, who in turn bows to Aizen muttering something that sounded like an affirmative. Panic flutters, than Asami feels as if she isn't able to breathe as Grimmjow loses control over his spiritual pressure along with his temper.

"Hey! I already said I'd watch her, Aizen! What is wrong with that?! I already know her powers and strengths! Wh.." Grimmjow's yelling spree is interrupted by a commanding voice. However, it's not Aizen's voice that is the interrupter.

"Grimmjow, Aizen-sama's word is that the girl will be under Ulquiorra's care. Her relationship to any other Arrancar is not relevant. Stand down," Tousen lectures not hiding the dislike in his voice as he addresses the sixth Espada. Grimmjow, himself, doesn't hide the sneer on his face as he regards the Commander General.

"Aw, Grimmjow, you need stop raising spiritual pressure. Poor Asami-chan's not use to it. In fact, you're hurting her right now," Gin says breaking the tense atmosphere. Both of their heads snap to look at Asami. She's clutching her chest. Like a fish out of water, her mouth opens and clothes as she gasps for air. A cold sweat breaks out over her as she looks at Gin miserably.

Quickly, Grimmjow reigns in his spiritual pressure. Though his temper is still evident, he doesn't want to stick around to have his lost argument shoved in his face. Instead, the mad Espada storms out the door.

Asami, however, doesn't even notice the rather loud departure. She's busy trying to suck in breath, while a hand pats her back. The moment her breath returns to a more even sound, a pale hand enters her vision latches onto her arm just above her elbow. A quiet command makes her look up.

"It's time to go, girl," Ulquiorra all but whispers. Asami simply stares dumbly at him. Now was her chance to befriend the usually quiet Espada. That was the furthest thing from her mind at this time, though. Their eyes lock in a staring contest.

"Ulquiorra, I believe she wishes to get her things. I think you should allow it," Aizen says with amusement in his eyes. The soft, yet cold brown eyes narrow slyly for a moment. "I believe there are those she wishes to say good bye to as well."

With a wave of Aizen's hand, Ulquiorra lets her go. Asami doesn't bother to stay. She takes off toward her room. Her sanctuary and haven, the only place she feels truly safe.

* * *

Gin simply watches as she flees from the meeting. He can't help but feel a bit sorry for her. Being with Ulquiorra won't be a picnic, especially if Yammy insists on follow the fourth espada around. A clearing of a throat brings back his attention to the present.

"You seem to have grown attached, Gin," Aizen says, a hint of mockery in his voice along with an almost sneer on his otherwise bored face. Gin turns and scratches the back of his head with his creepy, trademark smile.

"Naw, I haven't its just," Gin pauses for a moment. His hand still poised behind his head. "I'd just hate for something sad to happen to her. She's such a happy child."

"She's not a pet, Gin," Tousen says with a slight glare to his sightless eyes. "Remember, she won't last much longer. Soon, she'll do her purpose and disappear from this world."

Gin just smiles at them; as he flash steps away from the other two captains, his smile fades to a frown of irritation. Like he said before, he didn't want anything to happen to her. She drew his interest; it wasn't that he held any affection for the ex-hollow. Right?


	5. Chapter 4 A Long Night

**Fearless**

**Chapter 4 – A Long Night**

Asami only has a moment's reprieve within the sanctuary of her room, before the inevitable happens. The sound of her door crashing against the wall is enough to jolt her from her bed. Sitting upright, Asami prepares herself for what is coming. Unfortunately, she did not have enough time to mentally prepare for the events that follow.

Ninety pounds of Arrancar collides with Asami's chest; the force of it knocks her back and pin her to the, luckily, soft bed. Two scrawny arms wrap around her neck choking the life out of her. A second weight alerts Asami to another presence. Her mind goes into panic mode over the lack of breath.

"You know you two are killing her? She's just moving…..or she would have been had you to not killed her," a cool, nonchalant voice echoes through the room. Two pairs of young eyes, full of panic, look at the cool looking Arrancar slouching in the doorway using the doorframe as his own personal leaning post. Asami peeks out around a white shrouded arm to look at her current savior. It seemed like she was getting a lot of those lately.

His soft-looking brown hair almost makes Asami wish to run her fingers through it. Below the soft hair, his eyes put the clear ocean to shame with a shade of blue that looks almost thoughtful. His creamy skin tone fits almost perfectly with the Arrancar uniform he sports. An open jacket reveals his hollow hole is in the center of his chest. A running joke among the friends is that he lost his heart sometime during the transformation from a hollow to an Arrancar. The hem of the jacket reaches knee-level, which causes his friends to tease him about attempting to be a heartless superhero. A wide, black belt below his stomach is the only think keeping his red handled Zanpakuto strapped to his hip. His pants cover his long legs; like Issei's, the pants are the standard issue. Oddly enough, Asami hasn't been able to find his broken Hollow mask. She had asked him once where it was, yet he stared at her for a moment before smirking with a grin that almost literally spelled trouble. The reply was vague yet perverted causing Asami's cheeks to erupt into an impossibly deep shade of red.

"Asami-sama! Asami-sama say something please!" a small, soft, child-like voice screams in desperation. The two arms seem to morph into small hands; they clasp onto Asami's shoulders with all the force they can. Asami sucks in breath and holds it as the hands begin to shake her rather violently.

"Ah, Annikak! Please you're hurting her! You know better than to listen to Yuri! She's not dead!" a melodious voice scolds softly. This statement is followed by deep laughter and more screaming from Annikak. Asami falls limply onto the bed. Big, innocent blue eyes fill her vision along with a small child-like face. Golden hair falls down around the young Arrancar's shoulders, as well Asami's face. Her bangs are held at bay with her broken Hollow's mask. Many arrancars confuse what she might have looked like as a Hollow due to the size of the teeth on the mask. In total, there are five teeth each at least an inch around. Another accessory to her hair is the fresh red flower complete with green leaves. Her jacket is fairly ordinary; it's simply form fitting. A thin black belt holds her small Zanpakuto. The hilt and guard are both green; however the guard is shaped into three separate leaves. Believing that the skirts were too plain, the small Arrancar modified her skirt by sewing on pink pockets with black bows. Pink ruffles peek out beneath the hem of her skirt.

Large hands lift the small Arrancar off of the stunned Asami. The brown eyes of Issei catch Asami's blue and green ones, and a gentle smile spreads over his face. She can't help but smile back at him. A snort sounds out catching the attention of those assembled. Yuri is still leaning against Asami's doorframe a sour look on his face.

"You know she doesn't think that way right?" Yuri coldly sneers. Three of the five stare confused at the two males. Issei, however, holds an irritated look that the females rarely see on his usually serene face. "Also, I doubt that Annikak-chan appreciates being held up like that."

An angry glare is all that meets Yuri's cold words. A soft clearing of a throat catches Asami's attention. Turning her eyes from the two bristling males, Asami looks toward the second weight on her bed. A girl around the age of fifteen sits there with a small smile on her face. Her black hair is pulled back into a high ponytail, with hair that reaches the bottom of her neck. The broken piece of her Hollow mask looks vaguely like it may be part of a human skull. The 'forehead' part of it is only a couple of inches wide and runs along the left side of her head, from her hair tie to the middle of her forehead. A thin piece extends down stopping between her gentle, black colored eyes. Another little bit extends down from the middle of the mask and curves slightly to the right making it seem like it's an incomplete eye socket. The neck of her uniform reaches up to the base of her skull; the front of the neckline is open to her collar bone. The sleeves of the jacket reach at least four inches over her hands hiding them completely. The hem of the jacket reaches mid-stomach with a thick, black hem; there are two belts that attach to the hem of her jacket and the top of her skirt. The skirt, itself, reaches only mid-thigh showing a fair amount of skin before her black socks start. Her gray handled Zanpakuto hangs, in its black sheath, from her jacket.

"We heard about what happened in the meeting. We'll still get to see each other right?" she asks softly fiddling with the blankets on Asami's bed.

Asami smiles encouragingly at the young Arrancar. It had always been a hard task for her to ask for companionship. Her headstrong nature almost forbids the act. Usually, the young Arrancar could be found encouraging fights or rudely greeting other serving Arrancars.

"Yes, Yukiko-chan. It's only Ulquiorra-sama that I'll serve. I doubt I do anything other than hide in the shadows."

"Fat chance at that. You'll have loads of work. He is Aizen-sama's favorite Espada after all," Yuri interrupts with a smirk on his face. Four pairs of differently colored eyes turn to fix him in a glare. He simply shrugs it off and turns to look down the hallway. "This is what you get for being Gin-sama's _pet_."

The last word is spoken with venom. Asami rolls her eyes at the obvious jealousness; however she is in no mood to figure out what the Arrancar is jealous over. Her attention focuses onto Issei, who had at some point let the struggling Annikak down. He doesn't even look her way; instead, he holds a steady, intense glare at the other male.

"Asami-sama, will Annikak still get to see you?" Annikak asks with wide, panic filled eyes. Laughter from multiple levels of tones rings out in the small room. Annikak looks around confused with such child-like innocence that it's almost adorable. Somehow, with or without realizing it, Annikak had always been able to smooth over the rough tension in the group.

"Yes, Annikak-chan. You'll get to see me whenever you want. In fact….." Asami glances around her room in desperation to sooth the younger girl's fears. Her eyes land on a prized drawing hanging near her door. "In fact, I'll give you something precious, so I'll have to come back."

It was a simple drawing to an untrained eye. To Asami, it was a precious memento of their friendship together. The drawing was in a variety of colors and consisted of the group that now surrounded her. In the picture, each was expressing themselves in different ways. Annikak held up a multitude of flowers, weeds and grass; her small face bearing a bright grin. Behind her, Yukiko was glaring at the younger Arrancar with what could be described as a severe irritation. The green color from the grass stains a perfectly white uniform. Issei is stretched out on the field; his hands interlocked behind his head. His eyes are closed, and his face wears the most peaceful look that it would seem as if he's in a deep sleep. Yuri was the most difficult for her to draw. His personality seemed easy to express at first, but it turned into an all day chore. In the end, he is leaned against the only tree within the confides of the picture. His face wears a bored, yet alert, expression.

"I'll let you take the first drawing I made when I arrived," Asami turns to look down at the blond Arrancar. "Sound good to you?"

Annikak nods and hurries to retrieve the picture. Asami turns a mismatched gaze toward the two males to see what they think. Both wear a puzzled expression, and their attention is fixed on something outside of the small room. Blue eyes flinch and turn to share a gaze with Asami. Before Asami even opens her mouth, Yuri disappears leaving only questions in his wake.

"Hey, Iss-" Yukiko begins only to find that she's talking to vacant air. The silent, brown-haired Arrancar had simply disappeared without a sound. The three females look at one another and simply shrug off the strange behavior of their friends. With sad smiles, they begin to pack up the small amount of belongings. Asami would move to a larger room near Ulquiorra's quarters to be more convenient for the Espada.



* * *

"I know you were listening. Why are you interested in her?" There was that annoying voice. The server was quickly getting on his nerves. Didn't the moron realize that he was in no mood to talk?

Stopping, he spins quickly. Blue clashes with blue; each vivid color reveals layers of anger. A flash of brown draws attention from both. There stands the other male from _her_ group. Seriously, what did they want? Didn't they know he had better things to do than sit and talk to them? Didn't they have better things to do?

"I'll repeat myself: Why are you interested in her?" A threat lies beneath the cold voice.

"So, you're done addressing your superiors with respect? You should know better. I could kill you for such disrespect, server."

He thought for sure the annoying blue-eyed male would back down after such a threat from a superior. Much to his surprise and dismay, a hand yanks on his jacket's sleeve. Turning furious eyes to the offender, he annoyed to find a chalk board.

'You would lose her favor, Grimmjow-sama. I know you harbor some sort of feelings toward her. You may not wish to express them to Yuri and myself, but we **will** find out what they are. Fierce brown eyes accompany the green and white elegant writing.'

"Your writing looks like a woman's," Grimmjow almost snarls at the two.

Grimmjow turns away from the offending Arrancars and stuffs his hands into his pockets. Sure, the girl intrigued him to no end. Yet to go so far as to say he has feeling for her, Grimmjow couldn't help but want to use them both to sharpen his already honed skills. He had no feelings toward the peaceful Arrancar. Such feelings would only make one weak. He had no time for such ridiculous thoughts. Footsteps echo behind him, causing him to sigh. These two seem persistent and probably won't leave him alone till he makes up some sort of response to please them.

An icy, blue glare fixes itself into the cold eyes and onto the rough face. This would be a long night.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thanks for the review Kira michi. Please tell me what you all think of it so far. I'm up for debate over the pairing. T.T I'm kinda having a hard time deciding. Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach or its characters


	6. Chapter 5 A Stressful Day

Hey, sorry for the slow update. I got bogged with writing essays. Enjoy this chapter (though not much really takes place :( ). The next chapter will pick up the pace a bit more and have more of the plot for reading, commenting, and adding it to favorites ^.^

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or it's characters

* * *

**Fearless**

**Chapter 5 – Stressful Day**

The door creaks open and a single brown eye peeks into the bare white room. There was barely any difference between this room and her previous one. A white hand is placed just above her head and adds extra pressure, fully opening the door.

"Oh, um, thank you Ulquiorra-sama," Asami mutters and stumbles into her new room. Within two steps, her arm load falls to the floor. Stunned and embarrassed, mismatched eyes stare down at the small pile of belongings. "Damn."

"I will you leave to this, then."

Asami turns quickly to say something more polite to her new Espada master; however, he's managed to disappear already. Poking her head out of the doorway, she observes the rather large and seemingly deserted hallway. Unlike the serving Arrancar's quarters, this hallway has markings above the doors. The markings, Roman Numerals, correspond with the Espada that the residing Fraccion is serving. Asami's door had yet to be marked, but Gin promised that the number four would be placed over her door. Luckily for Asami, her room was the second door on the left after a turn in the hallway.

"Alright, you two. The coast is clear. Hurry though! I don't know when any of the others will be arriving," Asami whispers as loud as she dares. Two different colored blurs speed toward her open door. Pushing herself against the door jam, Asami tries to avoid her friends' mad dash. Her eyes widen as a realization hits her. "Hey, guys! Careful of the stu-"

"Ahhhh!"

"What the-"

Two obnoxious crashes cause one of the doors beside her own door to open. Asami freezes and stares wide-eyed at her new comrade. He was currently leaning out of his room, so her view was limited to just his upper half, basically his head and one white clad shoulder. His black hair falls down to his shoulder in a small braid. His mask was something she would regard as dangerous, more of a weapon then an actual fragmented mask. It comes out past his shoulder about a foot ending in a sharp toothpick ending. It connects to the hat-like base on his head; which, in turn, extends down to cover his left eye, which holds a barred style to it. Briefly, Asami wonders if he has an eye behind the bars, since all she can see is black. His face is set into a rather arrogant look, yet it holds a bored quality too. His eyes show a hint of malice and violence, which he is trying to hide.

"You must be Ulquiorra's new fraccion," he says in a slightly monotone voice. Asami gets the feeling she'd not like to listen to him for long, or she'd end up falling asleep which may seem like an insult to the male Arrancar. After a moment, she realizes his disrespect toward the fourth Espada.

_He must not like Ulquiorra-sama. _Asami quietly observes.

"Y-Yes?" Asami stutters making it sound more like a question than an actual answer. "I'm sorry I disturbed you. I-"

"Serving Arrancars are not allowed in this hallway unless the Espada is sending a message to his Fraccion," the stranger begins what seems like a long lecture. Asami watches him for a moment trying to place where she had seen him before.

"Shawlong-kun, she's new around here. She was a serving Arrancar before," a new soft, timid male voice interrupts. Asami tenses at the attention that is now being presented. Shawlong looks over Asami's shoulder, which causes her to do the same.

Her eyes fall onto a silver haired boy that looks about 15. Half of a skull covers the left side of his face and the top part of his head. The skull is complete with a set of teeth and a horn at the top of its 'forehead'. A single russet colored eye is staring at Asami with sympathy. He is around her height. His coat comes down to his knees and leaves his chest and stomach completely exposed. In the direct center of his chest, the boy's hollow hole is visible. His pants are similar to other male Arrancars' pants. Inside his small black belt, a black handled Zanpaku-to is visible. Its sheath is more difficult to spot, since it blends into his clothes.

"She must learn the rules sometime," Shawlong comments before his upper half disappears once again into his room.

"Th-Thank you," Asami whispers, while she turns to face the boy. "I didn't mean to cause trouble."

The boy laughs quietly and dismisses her statement with a friendly wave of his hand. Asami can't help but like the new kid.

"Awww, he's kinda a stickler for rules, unless Grimmjow-sama says otherwise. He follows that guy like a dog," the boy states with a rough laugh. He is trying, and failing, to sound tough. Apparently, he realized it to, since he seemed to deflate a little. "I'm Yashiro."

"It's nice to meet you-"

"Awww, Asami that kid's kinda cute!" Yukiko squeals. Asami flinches and barely catches the back of Yukiko's jacket in time to stop the girl from flying at the unsuspecting new found friend.

Yashiro is staring wide-eyed at the girl, who is obviously a serving Arrancar. He seems to grasp the danger he is in at the moment and takes a couple steps backward.

"Aww, I just want to squeeze him a little, Asami!" Yukiko pleads, while she holds out her arms expecting the boy to run right into them. "I won't hurt him! I promise!"

"No," Asami states leaving no room for question. Her mismatched eyes close, and she tugs on Yukiko's jacket. This silent command to get back into the room is ignored. A throat being cleared causes her to open her eyes. Asami figures it was Yashiro, because Yukiko wouldn't be caught dead doing something, as she puts it, "so course and rude as to clear one's throat".

"Would you guys like some help putting your stuff away? I could explain more about the rules here in this hallway," Yashiro offers kindly.

Time seems to fly for the four, while they work and laugh. They learn about the various people that room within the hallway's many different rooms. Surprisingly, there are many more fraccion then Asami could have ever guessed. Yashiro had told her that there was one named Bashta, who worked for Szayel Ganz. Apparently, she was dark skinned with short black hair that reached to her chin. Her mask rests on her forehead, and it's golden in color and shaped like a bird with extended wings. Her sleeves end just after her elbows; the front part of the hem ends just below her belly button and shows skin till it hits her hips. The back of the hem extends down just past her butt. Around her neck, she wears golden rings, similar to what one would find on royal Egyptians. Her skirt has two slits on either side that run from the edge, which reaches mid-calf, up to almost mid-thigh. Her Zanpaku-to has a golden hilt with a black sheath. Unfortunately, Yashiro couldn't remember what her Hollow form was. He did, however, tell them that she is one of the few that was not created by Szayel, and she is the only one to actually remain by his side. There is one downside to her though. She rarely speaks to those around her. Asami feels a slightly irrational urge to befriend this lonely sounding girl.

"So, you aren't a Fraccion?" Yukiko questions.

"No, I really don't want to be, but my twin does," Yashiro says thoughtfully. He is currently stretched out on his back staring up at the ceiling that is now covered with various drawings. Beside him, Annikah is sleeping peacefully, while Yukiko and Asami are stretched out on the bed. Their heads are close together; however, Asami's feet is near the front of the bed, and Yukiko's is near the foot.

"You have a twin?" Yukiko lazily questions once again. Her gaze is slightly glassy, since it's nearing the early morning hours. Yashiro doesn't answer right away. Instead, he moves to a sitting position and looks at the door. A hard look rests in his eye, which draws Asami's curiosity.

"Wh-" Before she gets far in her question, Asami picks up the presence of an Espada prowling the hallways.

"It's Szayel-sama. He's always stalking the hallways like a giant cat. Grimmjow-sama has it so that my brother and I are allowed in here, but…" He leaves his sentence hanging as his eye wonders over the sleeping Annikah and Yukiko. Asami feels cold dread curl in her stomach as she recalls what Shawlong had said about serving Arrancars. "In any case, they still have time to escape his notice if they go now."

"That will not be necessary."

Everyone conscious tenses visibly. They hadn't even noticed his presence until he spoke. However, that voice was unmistakable. Asami's eyes are glued to the ceiling. She knows she's in trouble now, and she now realizes that it might not have been the wisest choice to disobey the rules when the one to punish her would be the fourth Espada.

"I see you already have a disregard for the rules, Asami," Ulquiorra states quietly. Yashiro quickly jumps to his feet ready to defend his new friends; however, before he gets a chance to actually say something Ulquiorra begins to speak again.

"You're the one who is aspiring to become Grimmjow's Fraccion, are you not?" Yashiro starts to answer, but is once again interrupted. "Leave. You're needed elsewhere, aren't you?"

Yashiro casts a look of pure sympathy in Asami's general direction and quickly escapes. By this time, Annikah has awoken to find Ulquiorra standing over her. Asami and Yukiko share a glance of pure worry.

"It's late. You two should return to your quarters before Tousen-sama or Gin-sama find you. Maybe even Aisen-sama himself." A shiver runs through the girls at this statement. Each girl is imagining their own the worst case scenario.

"We aren't going to leave Asami here with you," Yukiko snaps and leaps up from the bed to stand in front of Asami. "Who knows what you might do to her."

"What I choose to do is none of your concern. Now leave," Ulquiorra says without a hint of anger or frustration in his voice. Instead, he closes his eyes and simply waits. The silence stretches on and seems to be suffocating to the three girls. Annikah makes a beeline past Ulquiorra and disappears down the hallway. This movement doesn't even seem to have been registered by Ulquiorra, since he doesn't even move a muscle.

Asami swallows and puts a hand on Yukiko's shoulder. The girl's eyes whip around to stare into Asami's. Slowly, Asami shakes her head and mouths a 'thank you', than points to the door. A pleading looks settles onto both of the girl's faces. Yukiko's look is pleading with Asami to let her stay and help her friend; Asami's look is pleading with Yukiko to go. After a couple moments, Yukiko reluctantly gives in and walks toward the door. Her pride is obviously stung, since it reflects in her steps. She pauses for a moment right in front of Ulquiorra and gives him a nasty looking glare.

"I respect you, because Asami respects you, Ulquiorra-sama. If you harm her, I won't hesitate to openly threaten you," Yukiko whispers just loud enough for him to hear. His vivid green eyes open to look into her black ones.

"I take it that wasn't a threat now?" he questions again without a change in tone. Yukiko's face turns red, and she storms out of the room. Asami tries to quickly gather her thoughts, before her punishment arrives. Her eyes are closed, so she doesn't catch the calculating, green gaze that rests upon her. Without another word, he turns and leaves quietly shutting the door behind him.

Asami's brown eye opens at the sound of the door being shut and looks at the now vacant area that had been occupied by Ulquiorra previously. Seeing it vacant, she sighs and settles down with a piece of paper and various drawing equipment. She hopes that with a little bit of drawing, she'll be able to calm down. However, there was one problem. What should she draw? Who should she draw?

* * *

"I see you're fraccion is disobeying rules, Ulquiorra-kun" a soothing voice says.

Ulquiorra stops for a moment, only to start walking again and put his hands in his pockets as he does. Szayel chuckles and looks at the doorway.

"Did you teach her a lesson?" He pauses to look back at Ulquiorra's retreating form. "No, I suppose you didn't, since she's Aisen-sama's pet and all. Oh, and she seems to be Gin-sama's favorite. We all know how you love to brown nose Aisen-sama."

Ulquiorra pauses in his quiet attempt to escape the slightly crazy scientist and looks over his shoulder. Szayel smiles nonchalantly, yet he is happy he'd managed to get the fourth Espada's attention.

"How strong is she? Do you know? How about we test her out at least once? We could put her against a creation of m-"

"Your creation would kill her, Szayel." Ulquiorra says and turns away once again following an invisible path back to his own quarters. Szayel still caught a hint of coldness behind the usually quiet Espada's words. Had he not been paying attention, he wouldn't have caught it at all.

"Hmph, maybe your right," says Szayel with a shrug.

Neither Espada even bothered to check into the small amount of spiritual pressure that lingered around one of the empty rooms. Cold violet eyes peek out a crack in the doorway. That new fraccion had to be the one her idol was always talking about. Her idol had wanted her to disappear, and she knew the right way to do it. The only problem was, the less lazy, or more interested whichever one worked best, Espada seemed to already be gravitating toward her room. Each Espada that lingered are just as curious as the next. Why is Aisen-sama babying this Arrancar?

She'd just have to wait for the right time. Then, she'd put her perfectly planned course of action into play.


	7. Chapter 6 Zanpakutos and Promises

Hello again. ^.^ I hope your enjoying the story so far. Please tell me what you all think of it, if you have time of course. Haha, I tend to find I'm a little lazy to review, so if you don't that's ok too. At least it's being read right? Please enjoy this chapter. It has a little more action than the last one did.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or it's characters.

* * *

**Fearless**

**Chapter 6**

Asami's blank mismatched eyes stare at the wall. She hadn't been able to sleep that night, and when she'd gone out to search for Ulquiorra that morning, she found she not only couldn't find him, but several of the other Espada were missing. Without much to do, Asami returned to her large room. Once there she had attempted to draw Yashiro, but found no overwhelming interest in doing so. After many failed attempts, she gave in and laid down on her bed facing the wall. Many varying thoughts run wildly through her mind. The doorknob rattles and slowly opens up to reveal a silhouette. Neither the dark silhouette nor the female, dark haired Arrancar moves an inch.

"Wow, your pathetic Asami-baka," a deep growl informs her. Her mismatched eyes widen in surprise. She didn't think she'd hear that voice ever again, since she was now the fraccion of his rival. Quickly, she sits up and turns to face the silhouette. Blue eyes coldly stare into her dazed, sleep laden eyes. "You really are pathetic. Yylfordt told me he's seen you walk around the hallways without your Zanpaku-to."

Her eyes narrow at his criticism. Asami had a right to decide whether or not she wanted to carry her sword with her at all times. No one had had a problem with her not carrying it before. Besides, on what grounds did he have a right to judge her? She wasn't his fraccion; therefore, he should keep his opinion to himself. He didn't have the authority to keep tabs on her actions. A thought tears to the surface of her occupied mind, and a burning anger builds up within her chest. Her fists clench into two white knuckled balls, and she can't decide which she wants to do more: slap Grimmjow or punch him.

"You've had your fraccion following me! What gives you the right?!"

Grimmjow shrugs nonchalantly and looks around her scarcely decorated room. It seems her other one was a bit cozier. Despite the having same belongings, this room seems too large and very awkward. His eyes lazily wonder back to her. Luckily, she hadn't changed her clothes when she'd been placed under Ulquiorra. She still wore her modest white clothes. Her white, tank top-like jacket runs down to tuck into her belt in the front. The back stretches down to her ankles in a cape-like in the back. What looks like a slit runs part way up themiddle of the jacket, but upon closer inspection, one would find that a piece of black nylon actually connects it. A collar is attached at the top of her jacket with a zipper, while her shoulders are exposed, it's only a small amount of skin. There are two sleeves that are attached to the collar piece; each sleeve is has two thick black straps on either side as the connecter. Her skirt reaches her ankle on her left side; the right side of it reaches three-quarters of the way down her leg, before it goes into a gentle slant downward.

"Are you even listening?"

Grimmjow's gaze lifts from her clothes to her angry looking face. What was it she had said? Oh well, it's not really important. After all, he was only doing as he promised.

"Look, woman, I really don't care what you have to say. Your silly little pack stalked me for days bugging me about you." He smirks when her eyes widen. Now, he had her attention. "I could have killed them, yes. But, where's the fun in killing people so weak."

His smirk widens as he watches her bristle with anger. She was always so easy to annoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*Flashback*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_"We are not weak! That was our food first! Quit trying to strut around and take what you want," Asami snarls at Grimmjow. He had stumbled upon her, that Rottweiler Hollow, and a strange new one._

_The new one was……a plant? It looked like maybe…Venus Flytrap? A man eating plant? Whatever the thing was, it was creepy. Not that that thought would ever escape the confides of his mind. The plant-thing was staring straight at D-Roy; both looked like they were ready to rip each other a new Hollow hole._

_"Why do you not fight back, Asami-sama?!" a distorted, but gentle voice says. Grimmjow is stunned to hear it come from the plant. A discreet look at his followers reveals that, the others think so too. But, that thing had to be a guy! No way could a girl, even a Hollow, look like that! She sounded young, too._

_"No way. You're a girl?" D-Roy bluntly asks what is obviously on his comrade's minds. Grimmjow barely manages to contain the urge to roll his eyes. Sure ask something like that when the opposing Hollow is easily as large as D-Roy, himself. Of course, no one could accuse the snaky Hollow of having an operating brain, in Grimmjow's opinion at least. "You look like a guy!"_

_A collective groan runs through the assembled Hollows. Could he say anything more to humiliate himself? An ear splitting screech wins out over the groans. D-Roy is the only one glued to his spot as a very angry, __**female**__ plant Hollow charges him._

_"Annikah-chan! Wait!"_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*Flashback End*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He frowns at the memory. Ok, maybe Asami's temper didn't really flare very often. Did she have to be such a passive Hollow? It isn't normal. Maybe it was the plant one that had the violent temper? His eyes close as he thinks over the small group that had formed around Asami. No…not the plant one. Issei and Yuri were the worst. He almost nods to himself, but catches it just in time. It was defiantly those two.

"Earth to Grimmjow-baka!"

Normally, he'd be pissed and immediately execute the one who dared call him an idiot. However, Asami had such a name for who knew how long. She'd picked it up from someone he knew very well.

"Look, woman, I told you before I don't care what you have to say. I promised I would at least try to watch over you and I will," he says with a growl. His hand extends and twists into her hair. A quick jerk pulls her head down earning him a painful yelp. "I don't want to hear it. You-"

"Grimmjow," a soft male voice interrupts. "May I ask what you are doing in my Fraccion's bedroom? And why you have her by the hair?"

Grimmjow simply answers with a glare; not being gentle, he rips his hand from Asami's brown hair leaving behind a tender scalp, with a few missing hairs. The two espada stare at each other in a sort of contest known only to them. One's face is twisted into a snarl with cold, angry eyes to match. The other has a blank-slate face with blank eyes to match.

"He's right, Fraccion," Ulquiorra states as his vivid green eyes turn from the still fuming Grimmjow. "You're to carry your Zanpaku-to with you at all times."

"Bastard," Grimmjow grunts. He pushes his way past Ulquiorra and out of Asami's line of sight. Her mismatched gaze drops to the white tiled floor of her room. She was out of an opinion now.

"Asami-sama?" a meek voice says behind Ulquiorra. By the time Asami looks up, her espada master is gone. Standing in her line of sight is a female serving Arrancar. Subconsciously, Asami's nose wrinkles in distaste. The uniform she was wearing could barely be called clothes. It barely covered the bottom half of her breast area; the top part is completely exposed to the viewer, and it only reaches down to about her belly button. Her skirt reaches maybe mid-thigh, if not an inch or two shorter. She wears boots that come up just above her ankle. It was obvious; she was trying to flaunt her body in hopes of attracting the attention of a high ranking Arrancar or one of the Soul Reaper General. Maybe it was to better her station in life? Or maybe just for fun? Her hair was a bright blue color; it kind of reminded Asami of Grimmjow's eyes. Her eyes is a dark violet color that started out light around the rim, only to darken next to the pupil. A strange glint shines within the depths. Asami is sure she's seen it before. But, what was it? Her mask is easily the most recognizable part of her face. The bottom jaw bone of some undistinguishable animal runs from one ear to the other.

"Alicia-sama has told me much about you," the moment these words leave her mouth, the girl flings herself at Asami. A piercing, dagger-sharp pain races up her right side. Warmth seeps down creeping toward her feet. Instinct kicks in; Asami gathers spiritual pressure into her palm. Red lights the room, and violet eyes widen in surprise. The weak Fraccion wasn't supposed to be able to fight back. Alicia never said that she did!

With a thrust of her hand, Asami just barely misses the girl's stomach. At the last possible moment, she'd flung herself to the right side, pulling her small pocketknife-sized Zanpaku-to with her. Asami's hand reaches down to cover a shallow wound in her side. Her eyes narrow when she sees movement.

"You bitch!" the girl yells, and once again throws herself at Asami. She had to do this for Alicia. She was asked personally by her idol. It was something that was entrusted to her, so she had to prove her worth. If she did, she'd be able to be around Alicia all the time.

Her bloody tipped sword arcs down aimed at Asami's chest. Flinching backward, the blade barely misses its' mark. Ripping cloth rings out over the sound of the whistling sword. Reversing the slash clumsily, the girl brings it back up aiming for the throat this time. Asami once again steps back, however there is a large problem. Her back had collided with a solid object, said object being a wall. Air whistles by her face as the blade misses its' mark once again. This throws the girl off balance temporally.

Desperate, mismatched eyes are cast wildly around the room for her own Zanpaku-to. It lays leaned up against the side of her bed. She was going to practice with it later; she never knew she'd need it in an actual battle. Her bed was so close, yet it seemed so far away.

The girl rights herself and once again goes on the offense. Her eyes drift to the Zanpaku-to, when she realizes that's the direction her prey is looking. She'd half expected Asami not to have one. The one laying before her had a brown colored hilt that matched Asami's eye and hair. It was longer than a normal Zanpaku-to, but it was very thin. It curved at a slight angle with grace, which made it look like a fang. It was indeed a dangerous weapon should it find its way into capable hands. Wind blows her hair and draws her attention back to her unarmed opponent. Violet eyes meet the white wall, and her ears pick out the elegant sound of a scraping weapon.

_Damn, Alicia-sama said she couldn't move like that. That had to be a Sonido,_ the girl snarls to herself as she spins to face the now armed Fraccion. Asami's legs are spread slightly, which gives her more of a defensive look that is topped off with her holding her Zanpaku-to at stomach level. The girl prepares to lunge when both heads spin toward the door. A high spiritual pressure was rapidly approaching the battle area. It had a different texture than that of any of the Espada. There was no mistaking it; it was one of the generals.

A ripping noise drifts out behind Asami. As she turns ready for a trick, a hand plants itself into the middle of her back. A sharp object runs along her thigh, ripping open the material and skin. A Garganta looms before her with the look of an awaiting predator. A rough push causes her to lose her balance; she twists trying to catch something in her room, yet both hands are full with her Zanpaku-to and its' sheath. Her eyes catch sight of slitted eyes.

_Gin-sama._

The scenery abruptly changes. In the blink of an eye, she is staring down at a well lit city. She hovers for a moment before gravity does its' wonderful deed and pulls her toward the bright lights. Panic flutters in her stomach. For a brief moment, she swings her arms, almost like she's trying to fly. Finally, she manages to stabilize herself.

She is now standing with her feet parallel to the ground. She places her sword and sheath into the belt at her hip. Her hand drifts to her chest as she takes a deep breath. Skin touches skin; her eyes widen. It wasn't supposed to do that. Slowly, mismatched eyes drift downward. The material of her jacket was ripped revealing too much of her chest for comfort. The rip went from almost the top of the collar down to about mid-chest. Only a small piece of cloth across the top was holding the collar together now. Her cheeks start to turn a light red color.

_Lucky me. No one is nearby to see this. _The clearing of a throat captures her attention in an instant. Her hand falls to her side as another thought races sourly through her mind. _I have the worst luck in history. I hope it's a female._

With dread weighing heavily in her stomach, she slowly turns trying to save some modesty by folding her arms over her chest. Her light blush darkens to a deep red color when her eyes taken who had interrupted her thoughts.

Before her stands what appears to be a boy around 13 or 14 years of age. Snowy white hair spikes out from his head. His teal eyes glare at her and gripped tightly in his hands is an unreleased Zanpaku-to. What strikes her is the black Soul Reaper uniform that is broken by a white vest. From her angle, it's impossible to tell what number is designed across the back.

_Oh, shit. My luck is especially rotten today. I had to be caught with my jacket ripped open by a guy. But, that's not the least of my problems. He's a Soul Reaper; a captain no less! Can it get any worse than this?_

* * *

His brown eyes stare mercilessly down at the cowering Arrancar. He was furious about what had happened. Gin had told him that he hadn't had time to catch the girl that was important to his plans. He'd hidden something within her for safe keeping. She was essentially a weapon, his ace. He'd placed her beneath Ulquiorra, because he was sure that nothing would happen to her. He wouldn't have to worry.

His eyes narrow further, which gives the only Arrancar present, the feeling that he was trying to imitate the creepy, hide-in-the shadows Gin. She knew she was doomed. The moment Gin had seen her push that horrible Asami through the Garganta, it was over.

"Gin," Aizen says without taking his eyes off of her. "Punish her how you see fit."

He could have guessed Gin would choose the method he did. His expression doesn't even change as a sharp tip erupts out of the girl's chest. Her eyes widen, and he can read the panic on her face.

"Aizen-sama please," she screeches reaching toward the 'throne'. Aizen's brown gaze lifts from the girl and focuses on a crack in the door. He knew that they had an audience. He wanted to show the actual Arrancar at fault that he could just as ruthless as some of those rumors he knew were whispered among his dear army. Who can't be ruthless when they are angered though?

When his attention drifts back to the two, he notices Gin's lips move. Unfortunately, the words are whispered so low it escapes his hearing. Oh well though. It's not important. A sickening thud reverberates off of the walls. Aizen slowly rises from his chair and turns away from the mess. He pauses to leave two lingering commands.

"Find your pet, Gin, and bring her back. Also, find someone to clean up that mess."

* * *

I really don't hate D-Roy (if it sounded that way). I was trying to make him into more of a comic relief character. I hope it worked.


	8. Chapter 7 Awkward Situations

Hey, thanks for reading and welcome back ^.^ When I went back over the documents for the last couple chapters I noticed quite a few mistakes. ^.^U Haha English isn't exactly my best subject in school (even if it's my language :( ). So if you'd like to help by beta-ing for me I'd appreciate it. :P This chapter actually came fairly easy. The plot is actually moving along better then I thought it would ;). Enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters.

* * *

**Fearless**

**Chapter 7 – Awkward Situations **

The silence stretches out over the span of a couple seconds. Yet, to the two involved, the silence lasts for an entirety. The small, white-haired captain was startled to see red staining the right side of her jacket, when she turned to face him. The most shocking thing was the rip running from just beneath the collar of her jacket down to about her belly button. Even though her arms were covering her chest, a good deal of skin was showing. His hands tighten on Hyorinmaru's hilt. He couldn't let himself be distracted by the fact she was injured and had tears in her clothes. Maybe she'd fought with one of the others? He does a quick scan to check on the assembled team he had been forced to join.

"Um, hi, Soul Reaper-san. I have a question. Can you, um, please…let me go?" Asami whispers not really thinking that the captain would actually do as she asked. Why was she here anyway? Her mismatched eyes wonder up the blade to rest on his white knuckled hands. It didn't seem he'd let her go so easily.

_I don't think I have a choice, but to attack. I don't stand a chance, though. Not against a captain, _Asami contemplates as her mismatched eyes size up Toshiro's Zanpaku-to. It looked threatening even in its sealed state. She wants to have some form of safety by holding her Zanpaku-to, but to do that she'd have to remove her arms from her chest. She didn't want him to see her exposed chest. She still had modesty, unlike other people she knew. For a moment, her mind wonders back to the skimpily dressed Arrancar. Who was she? Asami wasn't sure of her name, since she'd never seen the girl before. Why had she attacked Asami? What was the purpose?

Asami's face twists into a scowl. Well, that last question was obvious. The girl meant to kill her. Asami's eyes narrow in thought. She'd seen Gin-sama, so she was sure the girl would be punished. Now, if only she could find a way to get back. Panic flutters in her stomach for a moment. Her thoughts drift in another direction. Maybe this was all just a misunderstanding. Asami silently hopes the girl was ok and that Aizen didn't harm her.

Cold, thin metal presses against her throat dragging her back to reality. The small captain is standing in the same place as before. His Zanpaku-to hadn't moved, so that means…

"Aw, Captain, you tore her shirt open. Was you wanting to see what her chest looked like?" a feminine voice teases and the metal disappears from her throat. Toshiro's teeth clench as his cheeks once again dust a light red color.

"Shut up, Rangiku. Keep your opinions to yourself." By the time he's finishes what he is saying, Rangiku has Asami turned around and is inspecting her. Asami's eyes taken in the second Soul Reaper's appearance knowing now that she doesn't have a chance in hell to get away.

This Soul Reaper, Rangiku if Asami remembers right, has an odd shade of orange colored hair that reaches her mid-back area. Her eyes are an icy blue color, but instead of being cold like Asami would naturally associate with the color, they have a warm texture to them. She has what appears to be a mole beneath her bottom lip. Asami notices that her chest is almost as well-endowed as Harribal's. The opening on her Soul Reaper uniform is clearly meant to compliment this feature due to the fact that it reveals much of the cleavage. A necklace adorns her neck, while a pink scarf-like object wraps around her shoulders and disappears beneath her arms.

"Well, she doesn't seem to be violent. In fact, I think she looks scared," Rangiku states confident of her choice. She leans her body into Asami's; their faces inches apart. Asami feels slightly claustrophobic, yet it doesn't seem to bother Rangiku. "Are you scared? What happened to your side? That doesn't look like a wound inflicted by Hyorinmaru. Did you get in a fight with your friends? Awww, you poor thing. Why don't you tell us all about it? We can help you, you know."

Asami stares blankly at the Orange-haired Soul Reaper, who is talking fairly fast. How could they help her? Why would they help her? She was the enemy, after all. One thought worms its way into her mind without much trouble.

_She's a baka._

"Rangiku." The female clearly ignores her captain as she continues to jabber away. "Rangiku, you're an baka."

That captures her attention, and she turns to glare at her captain. However, it's clear she didn't take his harsh words to heart; she simply crosses her arms beneath her chest and looks away.

"I was only expressing concern over a fellow female. You don't have to be rude about it; I mean it's only Orihime-chan and me. We have to deal with all you males," Rangiku continues her rant oblivious to the fact that Asami is slowly stepping away from the two of them. Her back collides with something soft, but study. Her senses pick up yet another spiritual pressure. Her eyes drift back to see the object she'd run into. Bright, crimson colored hair is the first thing that is noticed. Next thing on the list to be noticed was the tattoos along the person's face. They were an odd addition, in Asami's opinion. She leaps away and turns to face the new threat. Her hands immediately drops from her chest and pulls out her own Zanpaku-to, despite the fact the red-haired Soul Reaper hadn't even drawn his yet.

She takes a moment to get a better look over the newest addition. His red hair is kept up in a high ponytail. A white strip of cloth is tied around his forehead. Asami can't place the color of his eyes, but she does recognize that all three wear the same type of uniform. None of them have seemed to change the style to suit their tastes. Maybe it's not allowed? Asami suddenly feels a slight bit of gratitude toward Aizen for allowing his Arrancar the freedom of picking a certain style.

"Pretty cute, don't you think?" a low voice whispers into Asami's ear, while a hand appear on her shoulder. Asami flinches and jerks away. Laughter drifts to her ears and the voice says louder. "Aw, come on admit it you were checking him out! Look, Renji-kun, she likes you! Oh, Arrancar-chan, did you forget about slit in your uniform? You probably gave Renji-kun quite the show."

Asami's face turns multiple shades of red within a couple seconds, and her one of her arms flies once again to her chest. Rangiku just laughs and steps forward. Asami's face is tilted down, and she's obviously not paying much attention until she feels her Zanpaku-to being liberated from her hand.

"Ah," Asami looks up into Rangiku's icy blue gaze. That one hand remains to cover her chest, while the other reaches toward the sword. Rangiku lifts it higher and tilts it further back to keep it just out of Asami's reach. "Hey, Soul Reaper, give that back. Give Lobo Solitario* back to me."

"Hey, Captain I caught her. She's defenseless now," Rangiku laughs while she waves Asami's Zanpaku-to in and out of Asami's reach. Renji and Toshiro share an annoyed glance at their friend's antics and each look back at the Arrancar that is trying to hide her chest, while trying to snatch her Zanpaku-to back from the silly Lieutenant.

"Captain Hitsugaya, what should we do?" Renji asks once he'd moved to the tenth division's captain's side. "Rangiku's right; that Arrancar seems different than the others. Even her spiritual pressure is strange. It doesn't quite have the Hollow texture."

Toshiro nods his agreement, while his teal eyes watch his lieutenant keep the sword away. Renji was right there was something strange about this Arrancar.

Both girls stop what they are doing as the small captain steps forward. His eyes hold a frosty look in them, and he still holds his Zanpaku-to in his hand. Asami's extend arm slowly moves back to join the other in the attempt to cover as much skin as possible. Her mismatched gaze shifts from one Soul Reaper to the next. She couldn't help, but think that it was the end of the line for her. She had never really taken the time to learn to fight. She didn't have to really. Issei and, later, Yuri had always been there to help her through such battles.

"Listen, Arrancar, we will allow you to live on one condition," Toshiro says in a low pitch. It was almost like he was trying to threaten her. Asami tries to crush the filling of hope that builds up within her chest. There was still an off chance that the condition would be something she couldn't or wouldn't supply. If there was no hope, there was no disappointment. Asami levels her mismatched gaze at him. She would prove that she was not afraid to die. Most of the Arrancars inside Hueco Mundo didn't fear death. What they feared was defeat; which in their eyes was worse than any death. She hopes that defiance shines strongly in her eyes, but she gets the feeling that it's hardly the case.

"The condition is you answer all of our questions and do as you're told from here on."

Asami's eyes close as the words leave his mouth. She kind of figured it would be something like this. She could resist of course, and she guessed that's what they thought she'd do. However, she had no overwhelming sense of loyalty to Aizen. Her loyalty lay with Gin and her serving friends. Her left, blue eye opens and clashes with Toshiro's teal colored ones. She'd live, yes. She'd have a chance to actually get back to Hueco Mundo, if she took this chance. Besides, she could answer to the best of her ability and not really reveal much. Ulquiorra hadn't been exactly the most trusting Espada master. Her eye slides closed again. What could a little bit of revealed information really hurt?

"Alright," Asami says; both eyes opening this time. "I'll talk about what I do know, but I won't reveal anything concerning Gin-sama." Asami can't help but notice that Rangiku had tensed once the name was uttered.

"We'll see," Toshiro states before turning to Renji. "Lieutenant Abarai please go inform 3rd seat Madarame and 5th seat Ayasegawa about this. Rangiku, I want you to infor-"

Asami feels her heart plummet. Sure, the orange-haired Soul Reaper talked too much. She was the type to get into your face and seemed slightly obnoxious, but she was a female. Asami's jacket was still torn wide open. She'd rather have the obnoxious, female Soul Reaper over either of the two males. Rangiku seems to sense the tense aura coming from the Arrancar and only takes a moment to decide what to do.

"Captain, I think I should be the one to take her back to Orihime-chan's place."

Toshiro stops his instructions to stare at her with a cold teal colored gaze. Rangiku's smile holds a mischievous air to it. Toshiro gets the feeling that something conniving is running through her mind. If he knows his lieutenant, whatever is on her mind would not bode well for whoever was in involved.

"You've forgotten that her jacket is exposing much of her chest. Oh!" Her face takes on a mock surprised look. "Did you want to see more of her? You do know we'll have to take care of the wound in her side. But, you-"

"Rangiku!" Toshiro snaps, while his hand rubs his forehead. It was true he'd forgotten that she was indecently dressed. "Fine, Rangiku take her Orihime-san's house. If you can, get her a different set of clothes."

Asami looks at the three of them before the Red-haired Soul Reaper seems to vanish before her eyes. A hand wraps itself around her upper arm; upon turning, Asami's face is greeted with the smiling face of Rangiku. Asami gets the feeling that the smile is somewhat forced. Yet, she'd given her word, so she follows after the Orange-haired Soul Reaper. At least she'd get another set of clothes.

That's good right?

* * *

Ulquiorra bows to Aizen when the one-sided conversation was over. He didn't really care that his fraccion had disappeared. However, she was under his watch, and he felt slightly insulted that his fraccion was incompetent when it came to battle. Besides, Aizen had set her directly beneath him. She had to have some special purpose. That bit of information stirred up his own curiosity. Aizen had been very strict about him slipping into the World of the Living and dragging her back. There was something Aizen was hiding. Yet, he's the master within the Palace of Las Noches, so Ulquiorra had no grounds to go snooping. In any case, he'd find the girl; she belonged to him strictly speaking. He'd test her a little and see what had captured Aizen's attention. He'd just do it away from prying eyes.

He quietly shuts the door to the throne room and slides his hands to his pockets as he traces his path back to his quarters.

"Are ya going to find her, Ulquiorra-kun?" a silky voice asks from the shadows. Ulquiorra pauses in trek to the other side of the palace. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was. His senses told him right away, and the silky tone was a dead giveaway. To be polite, he turns to face the ex-Soul Reaper.

Gin is leaned against the wall his hands are folded and hidden within the sleeves of his jacket. His face is passive, but the aura he is giving off is murderous. Though Ulquiorra's facial expression does not change, his eyes darken the slightest degree. So, Tousen was right Gin seemed, in a way, angered by what had happened. Maybe he did harbor some sort of affection toward the female Fraccion? From Ulquiorra's point of view, the two shared a type of family bond. Maybe an older brother little sister sort of affection?

"Yes, Gin-sama. I plan to start tomorrow," Ulquiorra replies after a moment.

"I plan to go with ya. She's important, you know."

Ulquiorra's eyes stare for a moment. He can't go against orders from one of the Generals. He tilts his just enough that it is recognized as a nod and turns away. Both understand the double meaning to the last statement. Ulquiorra starts his walk once again.

Gin watches the silent Espada for a moment wondering just what is going through his head. He figured that Ulquiorra would figure out the last little bit of his small speech had a second meaning. The Arrancar was sharp when it came to analyzing. His path takes him in the opposite direction.

_I'll just have to trust that Espada to get her back._

_She's important to more than just Aizen-sama's plan. She's important to you as well, isn't that right Gin-sama?_

_

* * *

_

* - This is Spanish for Lone Wolf

=D Hope you enjoyed. Feel free to express your thoughts on the story.


	9. Chapter 8 Sealed Fate

Hey, sorry about taking so long to get this up. I've just had a writters block and couldn't seem to get it started. I think that it turned out ok. Enjoy. ^.^

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters.

* * *

**Fearless**

**Chapter 8 – Sealed Fate  
**

Silence settles over the room with an almost suffocating texture. Asami is staring at her hands that are balled up on her knees. Every set of eyes in the room are staring intently at her. She'd told them all she was willing to say about Hueco Mundo and Aizen's palace Las Noches. A throat being cleared roughly makes every muscle in her body tense. It was unbelievable; there was so much spiritual pressure around her that it almost seemed like she was being strangled by each spiritual pressures' invisible hands.

"I don't believe everything she's said, Hitsugaya-taicho," rumbles the bald soul reaper. Asami was sure she'd hear his name, yet it hadn't stuck in her mind. "I believe that she is hiding something."

The white-haired captain looks away from the Arrancar to fix his teal gaze on his comrade. It was true; the Arrancar told them about the Espada, Aizen, and Tousen. However, all she had told them was the Espada was an elite fighting group like the captains of the Gotei 13. She didn't have much to say about Aizen himself. He couldn't quite hide the small smile that came to his face when her dislike for the blind ex-soul reaper colored her tone. Rangiku hadn't bothered to even attempt to hide it; in fact, she laughed loudly when the Arrancar described him.

"I promised you and I've kept my end of our bargain," Asami tries to state with a confident voice. Unfortunately, every Soul Reaper in the room is able to see through it. Toshiro sits back and closes his eyes in thought. Should he tell Ichigo about this? No, that would only cause problems in the long run. Besides, he didn't want to deal with the disrespectful substitute Soul Reaper. His teal eyes open and drift to the communication device that is sitting in Orihime's living room. That would be their best bet. If she was sent to the Soul Society, Aizen and the Arrancars would have to search there for her. He lets his gaze wander over each of the assembled Soul Reapers. Maybe Ikkaku should do it? After all, he'd be able to keep her in line. Toshiro shakes his head as he dismisses the idea. The Arrancar would end up at Squad Eleven's barracks and who knows what their captain would do to her.

His eyes land on Rangiku. She would do what he asked her to without complaints, but she was needed here. Frustration builds up in his chest. What was he going to do with her? A loud static sound startles those present in the room. The communication device flickers to life to reveal the Captain of the First Division. His powerful gaze sweeps across the Soul Reapers and finally lands on Asami. His eyes take in the Soul Reaper uniform, which is too large on her small body, which she is wearing as a substitute for her own torn clothes. The gaze also sweeps over the bone fragment on the right side of her face. His frown deepens, and his gaze flicks back to the commanding officer of the advance team.

"Hitsugaya-taicho, what is the meaning of this Arrancar wearing our uniform?" By his tone, everyone in the room knows he means he wants a straight answer, and he wants it now.

"Her previous clothes were ruined, Yamamoto-taicho," Toshiro says tipping his head forward in a small bow of respect. Somehow, he knew the older Soul Reaper wouldn't appreciate the kindness showed by the group.

"Does Ichigo know of her? Why have you not contacted us yet? The members of the twelfth division say she's been here for a while. Explain yourself, Hitsugaya-taicho," he rumbles through the screen. Everyone in the room seems to suppress a shudder at the commanding tone that is being broadcast through the speakers. Rangiku's grayish eyes drift with sympathy toward the young Arrancar in question. Over the short span of time it'd taken for them to reach Orihime's house, Asami had shown a mutual interest in Rangiku's old friend Gin. Rangiku hadn't said a word about what they had talked about, despite the Arrancar leaving out most of the details on him. It was obvious she didn't like Aizen much. Respected him, yes. Her true loyalty was to Gin, though; Rangiku couldn't help, but silently admire the girl for that.

"-that's all she was willing to tell us," Toshiro finishes off. The head captain seems to think for a moment. The Soul Reapers in the room shift uncomfortably, while they await his verdict. Asami's hands are white knuckled and balled up in the pants of her temporary replacement clothes. Outwardly, she tries to suppress her fear, but on the inside she is beginning to doubt her logic on making the deal with the small white-haired captain. Perhaps she should have run? Or at least she could have fought with them. Perhaps if she'd taken Grimmjow-kun's harsh words into consideration, she wouldn't be in this mess. There were so many possibilities that could have ended up differently, and her mind plays with each and everyone one of them. In fact, her mind is so busy regretting her past actions she almost misses the rough voice of the old man on the strange screen.

"I'll send one of the captains to retrieve her." The command was short, and the screen flashes to black once again before anyone can say a thing. Asami feels as if someone has punched her in the stomach and robbed her of her precious air.

_ What did he say?! Another captain is coming to get me?! Wait, does that mean I'm going into the Soul Society? Oh, this can't be good._ Her eyes wander over to Rangiku, and her mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water.

"Rangiku-san…" she begins with fear coloring her tone. This couldn't be happening. Why did it seem like she had the worst luck in the world? She'd rather stay with Rangiku and her group. It was true the two new ones didn't seem to like her all that much, but Rangiku and the captain seemed to tolerate her just fine. The one with the unusually red colored hair didn't seem to care either way.

"I'm sorry, Asami-chan," Rangiku whispers and turns her gaze away. She knew this would happen the moment the Soul Society found out about her. Her grey eyes find teal ones. "You don't think it'll be Kenpachi-taicho or Kurotsuchi-taicho, do you? Who knows what those two will do to her."

"I doubt it," states the Red-haired Soul Reaper with a thoughtful look. Asami's hopeful eyes shift over to him. What was his name again? Hmm, Renji? "I have a feeling I know who it'll be."

Rangiku seems to appear before him, inches from his face. He flinches back in surprise and knocks one of the tables over and jumps when a lamp shatters on the floor. He yells out her name in frustration and shoves on her shoulders in an attempt to get more space between them. Everyone watches with a variety of emotions on their faces as the two Soul Reapers begin to argue.

The sound of doors opening up stops all conversation. Asami's body tenses and she turns to look at the source of the noise. A door without walls to hold it up has appeared in the room directly behind her. She flinches away and closes her eyes when they slowly finish opening up. Sweet, but harsh silence is only there for a moment before the sound of sharp footsteps start across the room toward her hunched body. Immense spiritual pressure bears down on her when the footsteps stop before her. A large, warm hand wraps itself around her upper arm and pulls her to her feet. Instinct makes her open her eyes. At first, her eyes are greeted with black and white. A few blinks later tells her that this happens to be the person's chest. Her eyes drift upward and lock onto a young, stern looking face with grey eyes. A white clip almost centered on the top of his forehead contrasts with his black hair and three pieces of hair is laid out across his face. On the left side of his head, another white clip holds back more hair and from her angle it looks like his hair reaches his shoulders. It is apparent that he is very stuck on his appearance, because his hair holds a soft looking quality and looks well taken care of. A beautiful, light-colored scarf is wrapped around his neck; Asami wonders if it feels as soft as it looks and, without thinking about it, reaches up to see if her suspicion is right.

Pain races up her arm as a second hand halt's her hands mission to test the fabric of the scarf. Her eyes snap shut, and she gasps quietly. Her brown eye slowly opens to look up pleadingly at the new Soul Reaper.

"Ah! Your hurting her, Kuchiki-taicho!" Rangiku yells from somewhere behind Asami. "She was just curious. You don't have to break her wrist."

"Rangiku, shut up," snaps Toshiro trying to keep her from angering the other captain. Slowly, the pressure on her wrist is released, but she feels the hand on her upper arm tug her toward the open doorway. Her eyes widen in complete fear, and she turns her head to look back at Rangiku.

"Don't worry he may seem a bit cold, but he'll take care of you," Rangiku says waving her arm. Beside her, Toshiro is rubbing his forehead with a look of pure irritation on his face. It also looks like he is trying to rid himself of an oncoming headache that he'll surely blame on Rangiku's thoughtlessness.

"Kuchiki-taicho," another voice calls out halting the cold captain. His eyes turn and snatch the Zanpaku-to that was tossed at him. His eyes run over the sheath and lift to look at his red-haired lieutenant. "It's the Arrancar's."

Byakuya nods and slides the sword into his belt beside his own sword. Perhaps he could use it to get her to corporate with him. All he'd have to do is threaten to break it, and he was sure she'd do exactly what he told her to.

The wooden doors close; sealing Asami off from Rangiku and the rest of them. It also seems to seal her fate as well. The doors fade from her vision, and she is left in a tunnel of sorts. Her eyes roam across its walls, and she can't come up with a single word to describe them. The hand on her arm disappears and footsteps can be heard. Her eyes flick back to her only companion in the seemingly dead tunnel. His white captain's robe has a black number stitched into the back of it. She has to bite her lip to stop the giggles from surfacing. The image of a blue-haired Espada flashes through her mind. A grin spreads across her face.

_ They share the same number, but personality-wise,_ Asami thinks with a shudder as the image of another Espada drifts through her mind and her eyes lock onto the back of the captain. She begins to follow him. _His personality so far reminds me of the Fourth Espada. They even share the same hair color._

* * *

"Ulquiorra," a gruff voice calls from the end of the hallway. Green eyes turn to face fierce blue ones. "You were supposed to watch her. How the hell did she end up in the hands of some mangy Soul Reapers?"

Ulquiorra simply stares at Grimmjow and turns away once again. He didn't have the time to indulge in the sixth Espada's wish to battle with him. He had to find a way to slip into the Soul Society and steal her back.

"Ulquiorra!" An inaudible sigh escapes the pale Espada, and he turns once again.

"Grimmjow-san, she is not your responsibility and whether or not I chose to go and retrieve her is no business of yours." Grimmjow's teeth grind together in his anger, and his fist clenches till his knuckles become a white color. "She is my fraccion and doesn't have any ties to you anymore."

He turns and returns on his path to a place only he knows. Grimmjow bites back on his anger. If Ulquiorra wasn't going to help her, than Grimmjow and his fraccion would assault the Soul Society. They would get her, and he would find a way to convince Aizen to set her beneath him. If he was watching her, none of this would have happened. His blue gaze stares angrily after the retreating espada.

"You'll pay for this, Ulquiorra!"

The fourth Espada's held tilted to right just the slightest, and his eyes drift closed. Anger was the sixth Espada's downfall. It was obvious to Ulquiorra that there was a relationship between the Espada and his own fraccion. He has yet to figure out what it is, but it won't be long before he does.


	10. Chapter 9 Captive and Making Friends

I'm sorry that it's taken so long to actually update. Thank you for your review XKyuubiDatenshiX. ^.^ I'm glad that you love the story. Thank you to those of you who have put it on your favorites or on your Alert list. Please be patient for the next update. :) I'll try to get it out quicker. Enjoy!

* * *

**Fearless**

**Chapter 9 – Captive and Making Friends**

Asami stares out through the cold, metal bars at the young woman before her. The woman was thin, and her skin was a sickly pale color. She had dark circles under her eyes. It seemed like she was suffering from the lack of sleep. It was obvious to the Arrancar that the Soul Reaper was sick. Her hair was pulled back into a bun at the top of her head, and her eyes were slightly glazed. She'd appeared several times over the course of the month that Asami had spent inside the cage. She only came at night, so Asami assumed she wasn't allowed in here. Never once had the woman even spoke to Asami. Asami was beginning to wonder if the Soul Reaper was a mute.

Asami cautiously approaches the bars. Her hands circle around the cold, thick metal. The first night Asami had politely asked the Soul Reaper her name. She hadn't responded; she just seemed to disappear before Asami's eyes. The woman steps back when Asami steps up to the bars and her glazed eyes widen a fraction. It looks like she's about to flee. Asami feels panic lifts its ugly head once again. The only person she saw was this woman, and a timid, black-haired youth who would stutter that he had her food and retreat away from the "dreaded" Arrancar's cage. Asami decides to take a gentle approach to see if she can convince the woman to actually talk this time.

"Hey there. My name is Akatsuki, Asami. What's yours?" She keeps her tone soft, so she doesn't frighten the young woman. The woman retreats another two steps. This brings her against the wall. Her eyes are so wide now that Asami silently wonders if her eyeballs are going to pop out of her head. For a moment, the two women just stare at each other.

"D-did you s-see Aizen-taichou?" The voice was almost a squeak. That's all she gets out of the small stuttered question. Asami was surprised that someone could sound so intimidated by someone else, even if that other person is trapped inside a large, cold, metal cage without a single weapon. It takes a moment for the Soul Reapers words to sink into Asami's conscious. She must be asking about Aizen-sama. Asami slowly nods. A relieved look replaces the look of fear on the Soul Reapers face. "Oh, is he eating well? How is he doing? He was forced by that….." She pauses to find the right words. Apparently, they escape her as she finishes lamely, "…that Gin, wasn't he?" She looks as if she needs to explain herself, so she adds quickly, "No one believes me that he wouldn't do such a thing. I know that he wouldn't do it of his own free will."

Asami was startled by the fact that after each question, the woman moved forward a step. She was now half way back to the bars. Asami blinks blankly at her. It clicks in her mind after a moment. Gin-sama had told her about the Soul Society on one of the rare nights he'd felt talkative. This must be the girl he called "Momo". She was supposedly very loyal to Aizen-sama, despite the pain he put her through. It seemed like she was still loyal to the man. Asami couldn't quite figure out why she's loyal to him, but she doesn't think this is the time to question her motive. Asami inspects the woman closer. She looked ready to fall apart at a careless word. Because of that, Asami thinks over her words for a moment before she cautiously replies.

"He's doing very well. I think he's happy. He eats whenever he wants." She thought it was wisest to leave the last part unspoken. She wasn't even sure what any of the ex-Soul Reapers thought about the Soul Society, other than they wanted it out of their way. All Asami knew was that some Arrancars idolized Aizen, while others hated him.

Asami notices that almost immediately following her assurances, the Soul Reaper visibly relaxes. A small, sad smile adorns her tired face. Asami thinks that she could be very pretty if the dark purple circles weren't under her glazed eyes. If the woman smiled more, she'd have no trouble at all finding a man.

"That's good to know. I'm Hinamori, Momo. It's nice to meet you." Her voice has improved more since her first couple of sentences. It's soft and timid, but it was pleasant to listen to. Though the gesture is polite, she doesn't offer to shake hands or show any other sign of acknowledgement. Still, Asami can't help but feel that she's got some sort of a companion. "Oh, I should bring Izuru-kun tomorrow. I'm sure that he'd like to hear about.." she pauses. A look of disgust flashes across her face, but it's gone as soon as it comes. "...Gin."

A noise outside the door alerts both of them to the night guard. Momo casts a sympathetic look in Asami's general direction. The door opens, and a white light blinds Asami for a moment. She hears a swish and somehow knows that Momo has taken off. A shadow stands in the doorway; their back to the light makes them just a silhouette to Asami's mismatched eyes. Spiritual pressure is repressed, so it is impossible to tell the rank of the person.

"Was someone in here?" a cold voice questions. Asami represses a shiver. It was the sixth squad's captain, Kuchiki Byakuya. He had shown up once or twice to make sure that Asami was surviving. She had reason to believe that he was under orders to ensure that the rare Arrancar survived. She had learned to fear his existence. He hasn't moved from the doorway, instead Asami has backed to the furthest reaches of her cage. He had yet to lay a hand on her, but his looks could freeze boiling, hot water. "I asked a question."

"N-no," was the simple reply he got. He wasn't sure if he believed her. He had been told by the guard patrolling the door that he had heard someone, other than the Arrancar, talking inside room. He had his suspicions on who it was, yet he wouldn't report them. He had no evidence to prove it at the moment. His eyes stare past the gloom to the Arrancar's huddled form. It'd be a couple days before the Central 46 Chambers made the decision on what to do with her. Until then, she was under his care and therefore stuffed into a holding cell in the sixth squad barracks. He turns his back to the cowering woman. He'd catch the Lieutenant of the fifth division in time. He had paperwork that was in need of desperate attention at the moment.

* * *

It is a few, slow dragging days before Momo chances another meeting with Asami. This time she's brought a male around her age with her. He's got blond hair that arches up and over the left side of his face. It looked as if it was shoulder length. As usual, with the blonde hair came the blue eyes. He's tall like all the other males that Asami has known. His zanpaku-to sticks out of his belt like it is mocking the defenseless Arrancar. He has a quiet air around him, but Momo seems pleased beyond reason.

"Asami-san, this is Kira, Izuru." She seems proud of herself and seemed to be unaware of the tight atmosphere in the cool night air. Her eyes widen for a moment with a sudden realization that only she knows. "Oh, I totally forgot about that. I'll see you two later."

And like that she is gone. She didn't bother to wait for a reply from either of the two. The air seems to grow tighter. The male Soul Reaper takes in the white robe that they give prisoners. Likewise, the Arrancar takes in the standard uniform that the male is wearing. Neither knows what to say, and both are waiting for the other to speak first. This proceeds for a while before the silence begins to grate on Asami's nerves. Usually, she loved the silence.

But on those occasions, it was after being around the overly talkative Yukiko and Annikah. To Asami, this was like being around someone who regarded herr life a pathetic, non-important substance. Asami clears her throat quietly.

"So, is there anything you'd like to know?" A smile is attempted, but it is quickly abandoned when it becomes too hard to keep it up. She tries to keep her annoyance and unease out of her tone. It doesn't seem to have worked. His face becomes as still as a stone with a look in eyes to match his face. Asami shrinks back; he was fully armed while she had nothing but her hands and a few ceros. He looks off to his right. It seemed like he was just as nervous as his new companion.

"I would like to know about Ichimaru, Gin." That was it. It was said simply and so low she could barely hear him. The tone of his voice sounded flat and forced. Asami frowns at him. It didn't sound like he wanted to be here. Asami considers denying him the knowledge, but the image of Momo appears in her mind. She could almost see the hopeful look on the woman's face. Slowly, Asami starts to tell the blond-haired man about Gin.

"Well, he's nice. He's doing well. He is eating, if you are wondering that. He's a general of our army," Asami says. Her mismatched eyes are looking at where her bars connect with the ceiling with a false interested look on her face. She knows her sentences are short and choppy, but she didn't feel comfortable talking to the man. She can feel his eyes on her and figures he must have looked back her way. Her mismatched eyes drop to meet his blue ones. "He's talked about you, you know. To me, I mean. You were his Lieutenant, right? I think that he worries about you sometimes."

A look of surprise crosses his face, much to Asami's own surprise. He seems to hesitate for a moment, but he does step forward. The dull, stony look in his eyes is replaced by curiosity. He didn't fully trust this newcomer, but he was surprised to hear her speak of his ex-captain like she knew him personally. He stands there watching her much like Momo had done for the first month of Asami's capture. His head snaps toward the door as it slowly creaks open.

A swish signals that the male Soul Reaper has left. Asami steps up to the bars to peer out. The timid, black-haired youth was back. He has a tray that is causing his arms to shake underneath the weight. Asami actually takes the time to look him over this time around. His hair is black and chin-length. He was short and looked like he was still a child. He looks at her nervously and stutters something about having food for her. She steps back so that he has enough room to open her cell and push the food in. After the door clanks shut, she retrieves the tray and takes it the cot to have a place to sit. She begins to eat quickly. She was starting to feel lightheaded from not eating and having a constant stream of spiritual pressure around her.

She doesn't hear the quick footsteps of him retreating, and the door shutting loudly. Her mismatched eyes drift upward, and she blinks at him. He stares back at her. She swallows her mouthful.

"I'm Akatsuki, Asami. Fraccion to the fourth Espada," she says politely. While she watches him, she takes another bite. He seems to process this information and is clearly confused on the terms she used. She tries again after she swallows. "I suppose you could say I'm sort of like you guys' lieutenants, but there are some differences."

His eyes are slightly wide. Like Momo, he seemed terrified of her. A soft clearing of a throat makes Asami's attention focus more on him than the food she is currently eating. "I'm Yamada, Hanataro. I'm also the seventh seat of the fourth division."

Asami nods her acknowledgement, but he's already gone. She knits her eyebrows together. If he was from the fourth division, why was he the one bringing her food to her? Wasn't she in the sixth division? She stares down at her food confused. Her appetite has left her. She places the tray before her door and curls up on the cot that was already in the small jail cell.

* * *

A ripping noise causes the blue-haired man to turn and look behind him. Eight Arrancars step out. He smirks at the number. It was better than he expected. He knew his fraccion wouldn't let him down, and he figured at least one of Asami's crew would show up. Though, he wasn't surprised to see both of the males who have taken to stalking him for days.

"This is all?" he asks nonchalantly. A brisk nod from his head fraccion, Shawlong, tells him what he already knew. "Alright, we are here to destroy anyone with the slightest bit of spiritual pressure. Search out your targets now. Neither gender nor age play a factor in this."

Six of the eight close their eyes. Grimmjow also closes his eyes. He automatically searches out the one with the highest amount of spiritual pressure; he opens his eyes to see the others are ready. He waves his arm in a signal to go. Those six, who chose their targets, take off without another thing having to be done. His blue eyes focus on the other two.

"You're looking for Asami, right?" growls the only male that can talk in that silly girl's crew. The name had slipped his mind, since he didn't find it interesting or important.

The other male stares at him in complete silence with an ice cold look. He was thankful that the Rottweiler one had lost his voice, if his look was anything to go by.

"You guys came just to look for her, huh?" Grimmjow scoffs. The look he gets from the two is dangerous, but they don't scare him in the least. He doesn't reply to them right away. The main point was to retrieve Asami, though he wanted to have some fun with the Soul Reapers who had come after Ulquiorra's failure. He already tried searching for her spiritual pressure; he couldn't find it here. He was now positive that she had already been taken to the Soul Society. "Do as you wish."

With a mighty kick, he heads towards the highest spiritual pressure. He could sense one of his fraccion already there, but he wasn't concerned that the prey he was targeting would get taken down by his single fraccion. The two look at each other and close their eyes. They search hopelessly for their friend's spiritual pressure.

Grimmjow chances a last look back. He grits his teeth in frustration. Those fools wouldn't find her here, but he'd let them find that out the hard way.

* * *

I tweaked when Grimmjow actually went to the World of the Living. (I think he went there the day after?) Anyway, I hope you liked it!


	11. Chapter 10 Respect and Time

Hey, it's been a while since I updated this one. Thank you to all of you who have been faithful. ^.^ Thank you all for the reviews too. I feel bad that I read them and never really update. This chapter has been long overdue. I tried to make it interesting. I hope you enjoy. I also would like those of you who (even if you don't review) add this story to your watch list/favorite list! ^.^ It means you still like it! I'm really hoping to update more often, so please don't give up hope! I tried to make this one extra long. I believe I'll try to make this one a HisagiXAsami. Haha, but I'd love to hear what you guys feel on that! Please tell me if you think she'll be better fitted to another character :) Well, please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or the places. A few of the OCs are mine, but most are from a really close friend of mine. (Thanks for letting me use your imagination! :p)

* * *

**Fearless**

**Chapter 10 – Respect and Time**

Boredom. Nothing but pure boredom. Asami stares at the ceiling for what feels like years, though only a few moments go by. Hanataro should arrive soon with her food. Just like every other day for the last month. Today the timid youth was running late and, despite her outwardly bored expression, she was desperately worrying about him.

She's at the bars in seconds when the sound of the door opens. "Hanataro, wh-"

Her eyes widen when she sees who is actually standing there, and she backs away from the bars. Byakuya is standing just outside her bars along with his red-haired lieutenant. Asami's whole body tenses. The captain never visited her unless it was to scold her, or to "ask" her more information about the Arrancars. He hadn't been rough with her, in fact he had yet to lay a hand on her, but he always made her so nervous. Asami's stomach almost instantly settles into her shoes. She could feel every cold stare the two gave her.

Byakuya reaches forward and shoves the gate out of the way. Without a word, he turns gracefully and disappears from sight. Renji raises his eyebrow at the terrified Arrancar.

"You know, I heard that your kind is just as bloodthirsty as any Hollow." That comment causes a slight stir in her eyes. A stir of defiance. The red headed always sputtered some offhand comment that irritated Asami.

"Just as I heard your kind are nothing soulless losers." Just as it sparked a glare from her, it sparks a glare from the flame-haired male before her. She decides to cut it even deeper. "I thought that it might be wrong, because I've met some nice Soul Reapers. But with you, I see that it is the truth."

"Abarai, bring the Arrancar along," a cold voice interrupts. There is a pause before a few more words are added, almost like it is an afterthought. "Also, do not stoop to her level."

The man's face turns the same color as his hair. The sight almost has Asami laughing….. almost. The look was still threatening. It seemed to spell her certain doom should she voice her amusement. Asami looks down so that the angered Shinigami doesn't see how much the comment amused her.

A large hand wraps around her upper arm startling her. She almost instantly resists; however, she knows that any resistance would result in her losing her head. She happens to be very attached to the object.

* * *

The walk across the divisions seemed to take forever, at least to Asami. Shinigami of various ranks had lined up to watch her, or paused their training sessions to gawk at her as she walked past. Her eyes remain glued to the captain walking in front of her. She was already feeling like some king of circus animal on display with them all staring. She didn't want to have to look at them as well. She wasn't sure if they'd be like Hollows. She feared that if she looked at them, they would take it as a challenge and attack her.

Byakuya was walking gracefully in front of her. It looked effortless. Behind her, Renji, though less graceful as his captain, still held more grace than she felt. It was painfully obvious they were warriors. Asami wasn't much of one, even when she was in shape from the practices Ulquiorra had made her start.

The image of her friends fills her head. Grimmjow and Issei are at the front of her thoughts. She'd heard that Issei and Yuri had attempted a rescue around a month ago. While her friends had slipped back to Hueco Mundo unnoticed, Grimmjow's fraccion hadn't managed to be so lucky.

A solid back stops her in her tracks, thought-wise and physically. Her eyes lift up to meet the "wall's" eyes. The cold look chills her to the bone. She cautiously takes a step back. Snickering can be heard behind her. Resisting the urge to turn and glare at the offender, she tilts her head down.

A rough push from behind signals that it's time for her to move. Another large hand grabs her upper arm, but this one is different. It doesn't grip quite as hard as Renji, so Asami can only assume that it's Byakuya.

He pulls her to the center of the room where various sets of eyes rest upon her. Some are hostile, others are sympathic. Many are indifferent. Various amounts of spiritual pressure assault her. It's obvious with some spiritual pressures; the owner is trying to keep it under wraps. Others obviously don't care.

The color runs out of her face. She has to think about not shaking where she is standing. The hand is still wrapped around her upper arm, and Asami finds herself grateful for Byakuya's grip. Her eyes focus only on the floor. She couldn't believe that she was in a room full of captains. She'd been around the Espada but that was different. Despite them being bloodthirsty, Gin was always hovering somewhere nearby to alleviate her fears. Then Ulquiorra, as cold as he was, always seemed to hover around her and make sure that no one hurt her. As crazy as it sounded, Grimmjow also made her feel comfortable.

"What is your name, Arrancar?" An old voice pulls her thoughts back to the room full of captains. Asami's mismatched eyes drift up to look at an old man wearing a white overcoat over his Shinigami uniform. He is leaning on a crane. His long beard overflows over it, and his eyes seem to be shut. It vaguely reminds her of Gin. All eyes are set on her now.

"A-Akatsuki A-Asami," she says quietly. She grimaces as stutters. Her eyes immediately focus back on the floor. She's relieved when the old Shinigami turns his attention to Byakuya.

"Have you obtained anymore information from this one?" he asks in a fairly slow manner.

"No, sir. She has only told us that she is a fraccion of an Espada. She won't tell his number, nor his name. She will not tell us anything about Gin. I have already told you everything that she has told me about Aizen and Tousen. She went into detail about several of the Espada," Byakuya says. Asami's eyes drift up slightly widened. She'd never heard him speak that much nor that respectfully to someone before. His cold eyes find hers, and he stares at her for a moment before he turns to look at the older Shinigami again.

"Do you believe she is lying, Kuchiki-taicho?" A soft feminine voice asks from somewhere in the room. Asami's eyes drift downward. She didn't even look for the source of the voice.

"Unohana-taicho, I believe she is telling the truth. She doesn't exhibit any of the traits that we believed to be shared by all of the Arrancars, even the lower level ones," Byakuya answers the voice.

"What do you mean by that?" A younger voice asks. This time Asami can't help but look straight at the voice. Cold blue eyes stare back at her. White hair is sticking up in any direction it possibly can. His skin is slightly tan. He seems to emit an icy feeling toward her. He too wears a white overcoat over his Shinigami uniform. What surprises her is how young her looks. He still looked to be a child.

There is a hesitation in Byakuya's answer. The silence seems to weigh heavily on the two that are standing in the middle of the room.

"She has made…..friends with several of the Shinigami. Hinamori-san from Division Five has visited her on several occasions. Kira-san from Division Three has been known to have contact with her. Yamada-san from Division Four brings her food. The guards always have to shoo him away," Byakuya finally supplies. A wave of whispers runs through the assembled Shinigami before the oldest one slams his crane on the floor with a loud sound to call order back.

"Arrancar," he says making Asami briefly wonder why he even asked her name earlier. "What are your plans? Why do you associate with our soliders?"

Asami has to think for a moment. Why did she? The image of Momo's face pops up. She was laughing about something Asami said. Kira looking shyly away as he talks to her is next. Hanataro's face is next. He's staring at her wide eyed as he learns about the different places she'd visited as a Hallow, or when she describes how white Las Noches is. Her Hallow friends pop up as well. The last image she sees is of Grimmjow. He's standing with his arms crossed glaring at her for something she said. She couldn't even remember what it was that set him off.

"Arrancar?"

Asami looks up at the old Shinigami and takes a deep breath.

"I don't care that they are Shinigami. Friends are friends regardless of the race. Why should I shun them for being my supposedly sworn enemy? I chose who I wish to associate with and do so at my own choice. I chose to ask Aizen-sama to make me Arrancar. I did not wish to remain a Hallow any longer. It's disgusting. All you ever do is eat others in order to survive. I had no wish to evolve. I had no wish to become a Hollow….." Her voice trails as she looks at the dark floor. Her mind drifts to the past oblivious to the stares she is getting from the captains.

*Flashback*

_ Soft eyes watch as her family grieves at the headstone. Her name stamped in clear letters over the gray stone. Her mother was taking it the hardest. She was starting to blame herself for her daughter's death. The truth was it was no one's fault. It was just fate._

_ Asami reaches out wishing to comfort her mother. Her father hadn't spoken a word since the 'accident'. Her older brother didn't even show up. He was locked in his room. He'd been there along with their mother. She remembered him being the last person she saw as her eyes lost sight. But that memory was quickly fading._

_ That's what scared her the most. She couldn't remember anything other than what she was viewing now._

_ Months go by. Her brother spends all of his time at a friend's house. Asami can't blame him. Their mother's grief is too much. Then her and their father fights none-stop. They start to accuse each other for Asami's death. Asami tries to keep them from doing so, but they don't notice her._

_ It's the reason she stays…..until that fateful night._

_ Her footsteps are pounding off the pavement. She didn't understand what the man wanted with her. She just knew to get away from him._

_ As she skids around a corner, a solid body blocks her. Nothing is said as her world goes black. Vaguely, she feels something enter her spirit body._

*End Flashback*

"Is that understood?" the old man states.

Asami's eyes widen as she realizes she was caught in a daydream and just missed something vital. Her muscles tense. Barely a second later, a large fuzzy hand clasps around her opposite arm. Byakuya's grip disappears, and his spiritual pressure starts to recede. Asami looks up at him in a panic, but his back is to her. She highly doubted he would have cared in the first place. Still, she knew him. She looks at the fuzzy hand. Odd…. It looked like a fox paw. Her eyes drift upward. She barely holds back a squeak of surprise. Of course being a hollow, she'd seen lots of strange things, but this had to top them all.

The creature was wearing the same white captain over and Shinigami uniform as everyone else. However, he had shoulder protectors on along with boots instead of the normal sandals she's seen other Shinigami wear. Redish brown fur covers the top half of his face and snout. White covers the bottom half. All in all he looked like a giant canine to Asami. His height only served to intimidate her. She swallows hard.

His golden eyes soften as he sees her fear. He lets her go slowly and then turn motioning over her shoulder. He makes sure he uses a soft voice as he says,

"Follow me. I'll show you to your new home, Akatsuki-san. Hisagi-kun will be kind to you."

Asami swallows hard again and follows him at a safe distance. Her hand reaches up and runs along the bone that is plastered there. What was going on? Why did she have to zone out on the most important part of the conversation? Her eyes find the large back. Did she dare as the large man?

"E-excuse me?" She stutters.

The captain stops and looks over his shoulder at her. She looks away as she tries to find the words. How did she put 'I wasn't paying attention while amongst my enemies' into words that didn't make her look like the clutz or fool that she felt like?

She couldn't.

"What is my fate? Who is 'Hisagi-kun'? What is going on? Where are we going?" She could almost slap herself for sounding like such a child. A deep growl makes her jump and look up at him. His lips are pulled back in a smile, that she'd mistaken as a snarl at first. The growl was a chuckle.

"You weren't paying attention were you?" The man teases. He turns to face her fully. They are out in the middle of a disserted street near the first division's barracks. "You're fate is what you chose it to be. Hisagi-kun is the acting captain of the Ninth Division. Formerly Tousen's Division."

She tenses up at the last response. It obviously doesn't go unnoticed. She looks away, so that she doesn't have to see the questioning look. She simply supplies an answer.

"We didn't get along much. I preferred Gin over him. He didn't seem to like me."

Komamura just stares at her. He would have thought at first that Tousen would have taken an interest in a seemingly pure being. He couldn't help but trust her. She wasn't like other Arrancars. He can tell she feels awkward, so he turns and continues to walk. He says over his shoulder.

"Hisagi-kun will be training you. You'll have to decide what side you'll be on. I trust you'll make a wise choice. You're lucky. Not many Arrancars get the chance to walk freely among us. Don't be fooled. Many will despise you for what you are. Right now we are headed toward the Ninth Division's head quarters."

Asami follows silently after a moment. Her mind wonders to what was told of her. She missed her friends. She missed Hueco Mundo oddly enough. She did like it in the Soul Society though. Everything seemed to be much cleaner to her. Hueco Mundo smelled of Hollows, death and decay. It was a constant struggle for survival. Her mismatched eyes drift over the many people wandering around. All are Shinigami. Soliders, just like the Arrancars. Those that don't notice her have a peaceful expression on their face, despite the looming war. Laughter can be heard from around a corner. Asami's eyes widen in amazement. No one was trying to kill each other. No one was trying to get closer to the leader. Everyone looked content.

Everything and everyone looked peaceful.

She felt overwhelmingly nervous, but an overwhelming joy at the same time. She was about to be a part of this peace.

It was just how Gin had told her.

* * *

The silver-haired man is stretched out on his bed. He'd caught Grimmjow trying to sneak off again. No doubt to try and find Asami.

Though he never admitted it, Gin really wanted to make sure she was ok. He could tell that Aizen was getting upset over the constant failings of his petty Arrancars. Gin didn't even know why she was so important to the head ex-Shinigami.

He releases a noise before a knock even appears outside his door. He knew it was Yuri. The man was practically in love with Asami.

A light brown-hair colored head peeks in. Before Gin knows it, Asami's whole crew falls through the door. Yuri was the only one that held any pose. The rest was a struggling mass of tangled limbs and swear words.

Yukiko is the first one out of the bunch. On her hands and knees, she glares up at the ex-Shinigami and states loudly.

"We want to save her. We want to go to where Asami is, Gin-sama!" Another three sets of determined eyes join the mix. Gin sits up to look at all of them. His ever present smile isn't as large as normal. It shrinks even further upon seeing the former Sixta Espada. He opens up his eyes for once to get a clear image of them all. Only Grimmjow, Yashiro, Issei and Yuri don't shrink away in fear.

"Just tell us where the bitch is." Grimmjow snarls at the ex-Shinigami.

Gin's smile grows, "Oh that's easy. She's in the Soul Society."

The present Arrancars freeze then slowly look at one another. In that moment, Gin closes his eyes and thinks a thought that sends a slight thrill of happiness through him. _ You've got yourself some loyal people around you, Asami-chan. Even your Espada is here._

Around the corner clearly in hearing range, Ulquiorra leans against the wall with his vivid green eyes closed. He processes the information before he pushes off from the wall. He starts toward a destination to avoid any unnecessary questions from the former Espada or lowly Arrancar.

He couldn't help but feel that those lowly Arrancar would be the driving forces that would change the tide of the looming war.

He dismissed the thought almost immediately. He still had to figure out why Aizen was so crazy about finding his Fraccion. He had heard reports about her whereabouts; however, Gin would silence the scouts. A few times Ulquiorra had come upon the mess left by the ex-Shinigami. Neither had said a word about it.

Ulquiorra wanted to find out what was so special before he went to retrieve her. He figured if he was patient, Gin would eventually reward him with the information he craved.

It was only a matter of time.


	12. Chapter 11 Relationships

Okay, so I got lazy and didn't update. Haha, I'd like to cry that life has been kinda hellish right now (which is true!) but that's not really fair. I tried to make this chapter really long for you guys. It doesn't have a lot on Asami's POV, but it does emerge a love interest (who is reluctant lol). It also explains Aizen's interest in her. Also to warn you. I didn't go through this chapter to make sure everything was exactly as it should be. Haha, if anyone would like to start reading over my chapters before I submit I'd be deeply in debt to you! Thanks!

Also, thank you for the inspiration and drawings to help me along Matti! (:

Happy reading!

* * *

**Fearless**

**Chapter 11**

Sweat runs like a river down the side of her face. The image of the male shinigami before her swims making queasy to her stomach. She tries to lift her zanpaku-to to a ready position, but the tip touches the ground once again. The hilt slips from her grip as a sword tip touches her throat. She closes her eyes tightly and lifts her head back in a futile attempt to pull her head away from the tip.

"Enough," a stern voice says. The sword tip doesn't move at all. She slowly opens one eye to look at the teal-haired male shinigami before her. His eyes matched his hair. Other than that she didn't see anything remarkable about him other than his obvious hatred for her. She had heard him barely speak maybe five words in the last two months.

"I said 'enough'," the stern voice once again says. The man Asami had come to know as Shuuhei, grabs the teal-haired guy's arm in a hard grip. "Kyo, back down."

Kyo finally lowers his sword. His eyes darken slightly with anger as he turns away. He mutters something to Shuuhei and walks away.

"I'm sorry Hisagi-sama," Asami squeaks and looks away from him. Her spirit rises a little when she sees Momo making her way toward her with a smile on her face. It was always nice to see her out of the hospital now. Her spirits rise even further when she spots new friends making their way toward her. Two male shinigami are accompanying Momo.

A blue-haired male is quickly taking the lead. His goofy smirk reaches up into his golden eyes completely. His eyes ironically match the color of the hilt of his Zanpaku-to, which is sticking up over his shoulder with the tip sticking out past the upper part of his arm. He has a sash across his waist that is a lighter shade of blue than his hair. Almost a sky blue. His arm lifts up and waves at amazing speeds.

Asami almost doubles over laughing when an albino male trips over something in his way and takes out blue-haired shinigami in front of him. They roll a surprising distance before the albino male's head pops up. His red colored eyes widened in panic.

"Ahhhh! I'm so sorry Kouta-kun!" he manages to squeak out in a slightly deep voice. That does it. Asami does double over laughing as does Momo, who had managed not to get pulled down with the two of them.

"That's what you get for being too competitive, Toya," Shuuhei states coldly as he looks at the three of them. "Is there a reason for you being in a private training session?"

Kouta grins wolfishly making Asami give him a weary stare. Kouta makes his way over to Asami and drapes an arm around her shoulders and leans on her. With his free hand, Kouta runs it along Asami's partial hollow mask.

"We just wanted to see our Arrancar buddy. Shuuhei-san, you've been keeping her to yourself. No need to be so selfish with her. We just want a turn," Kouta says in a sly voice. His smirk becomes vicious in an indescribable way. "After all if you keep her away from everyone, who knows what rumors will start. Maybe something along the lines of you fraternizing with the enemy."

Everyone, with the exception of Kouta and Shuuhei, suck in their breath and hold it. Three pairs of eyes look between the smirking Kouta and the now unhappy Shuuhei. Before anyone can speak to help make the situation better, Shuuhei turns his back on the small group.

"Dismissed, soldier. Training will resume right at sunrise," he says coldly. In the blink of an eye, the acting captain is gone. Spiritual pressure and all. Asami shoves away from Kouta and turns to glare at him. Momo is doing the same thing from behind the shinigami. It doesn't seem to faze him.

"Before you two lay into him, Asami-chan think about it from our perspective. You promised to help us train by hunting hollows just outside the districts. You've been putting it off for weeks now," Toya says shyly to try and stick up for his obnoxious friend. He would never admit, but he was also appalled at what Kouta had said to a superior officer. Neither of them was even seated!

Asami's shoulders slump with depression. She had purposely been putting them off. Sure she didn't like hollows, but she had a really really hard time hunting what would be considered her "own kind". However, she didn't want to break her promise to her friends either. With a sigh, she follows after her group of newly found friends.

* * *

"You know Hisagi-san, you shouldn't get attached to her," a voice says softly behind Shuuhei. He doesn't have to turn around to feel the two captains' spiritual pressure. A large, warm, fuzzy hand touches his shoulder.

"I know she feels different, but this is just a trial. We know that she is important to someone on that side. They will come for her. If it's Gin, she'll go to him. She's obviously loyal to the man. Just as she is to her Espada," a deeper voice says in a soft tone. As soft as he could make it. It still seemed like a growl.

Shuuhei watches as Asami disappears from his sight and turns toward Unohana and Komamura. He wouldn't admit it to anyone other than the large captain. He was starting to get a funny gut feeling around the Arrancar. The feeling frustrated him beyond belief, because he has never felt anything like it. He started to up her training sessions and stopped sparring with her. He made sure to pick someone he had trusted to keep her on her toes and wear her out quickly. The extra bruises he could never give her was a bonus. It disturbed him to think that he was having feelings toward her. He didn't even want to think about her. She was in league with Gin. The man who had turned Tousen away from everything that was justice.

When Kyo had not backed down, his anger spiked. He just kept thinking it was simply because his order was not followed by a lower rank. That's all he'd believe it was. There was nothing there. Nothing at all.

Unhonana was gone when a growl like voice called him out of his thoughts. Shuuhei looks up at the captain before him.

"How long are you planning to pretend? It has become obvious to us, Hisagi-kun," Komamura says. His eyes soften considerably. "She won't last around here forever if you don't make your move soon."

"You shouldn't encourage such things, taicho," Shuuhei states looking away. His eyes travel to the last spot he'd seen her. His chest starts to feel heavy. He tries to ignore the feeling. It was nothing but an issue to him. One that he planned to fix. Soon.

"Hisagi-kun, I'm not encouraging anything. She has the heart of a Shinigami. She would have made a great one, if she had not become a hollow. I can see it in your eyes. You may be denying it out loud, but you know that you have started to fall for that girl."

Shuuhei turned to retaliate with something along the lines of how ridiculous the captain sounded, only to find empty air. He grits his teeth and flash steps away.

He would continue to deny the fact that he was in fact falling for her.

As far as he was concerned, she was still an enemy. She always would be.

How could he get rid of the longing in his heart for her?

He couldn't, and he knew it.

* * *

Grimmjow about flips when he finds out that he had been followed. He was pissed that they had managed to escape his notice, but he understands why now. His blue eyes glare into calm green ones.

"What the hell are you idiots doing here? I can get her myself," he snarls. The forest around him eerily echoes his words back distorted.

"She is my fraccion, Grimmjow." That's the only answer he gets out of Ulquiorra. The higher ranking Espada just walks right past Grimmjow. The rest of Asami's crew follows him, except for Issei. The silent man just gives Grimmjow a steady stare.

"What do you want, slimbag?" Grimmjow snaps at him. A heated glare doesn't even cause the ex-hollow to back down at all.

Issei finally looks away to write on his ever present chalk board. The words he shows sends a shiver through Grimmjow. Not that he shows it.

_Do you love her? Is that why you are going to such lengths?_

In the blink of an eye, Issei is trapped. His coat is being grabbed by the front by a very pissed off Espada. At his back is a tall tree. His gaze doesn't waver at all as Grimmjow's face got closer to his. He never liked the fact that Asami had started to have companions. Never. He didn't trust them.

*Flashback*

_His eyes watch as she circles the Rottweiler Hollow. Her wolf-like body sunk into a crouch. It was obvious she was hunting. The look of disgust threw him off though. Why did she look so disgusted? This hollow would surely make her stronger._

_ Didn't she want the power?_

_ No. She didn't, and he knew that. She hated her situation in the spirit world. She hated that she had died and couldn't remember what had happened to her. She hated having to eat her own kind. He had found this out a little while ago, when he had followed her for days keeping watch over her. Something about her attracted him to her. He knew he'd never figure it out._

_ He thought at first maybe he had some kind of twisted love for the wolf-like hollow. But watching her now, he realized that wasn't it. He was proud she'd prayed on something bigger. It wasn't the type of pride that a lover would feel. It hit him hard, and he stepped back._

_ It was an older brother like feeling. And it scared the crap out of him._

_ He turns away. He knew he should get away before he interfered with her hunt. Before he brought the Rottweiler down for her._

_ His lip curls as he sees her transformation into an Arrancar. He couldn't believe she had come. Everyone proceeds to leave as Aizen walks down toward her. As weird as it seemed at that time, Grimmjow and the others didn't pay attention it. Grimmjow's mind was on other things. Asami's group had all been changed. It was larger than before. It totaled four. That wasn't the most important thing though._

_ She had changed._

*Flashback End*

He shoves away from Issei. He turns his back and starts to walk away, throwing a few words casually over his shoulder.

"I don't love her. Not in the sense you just stated it. I could never love that little bitch in that way. After all, she is always around me. I guess I just got use to her presence."

Both men freeze almost instantly. A thought had hit them both. Maybe they had figured out why Asami was so important to Aizen. Why he was taking such desperate steps to find her. Grimmjow slowly turns back to see new words written on the annoying chalk board. They had a haunting feeling to them that both men wished wasn't true.

_She has the Hogyoku, or at least part of it, hidden inside her doesn't she?_

Grimmjows fists tighten up as it hits him. She had always been there when people was being changed. Part way through she'd look sick to her stomach or under some type of stress. She always explained it as seeing a flash of white. He always thought that was a weird reaction.

* * *

Behind a tree not far from the two, a white head bobbed in agreement. Of course he had figured it out long ago. Gin's eyes open up, but only to reveal a dangerous look. He didn't want any more mind games played with his favorite. And he planned to keep her "lost" for a while.

He could only hope that the rowdy Grimmjow and the calmer Issei would feel the same way. Gin knew they'd convince the others. From there, Gin would only have to deal with Ulquiorra.

* * *

Hopefully I can keep on a role and get the next chapter out soon! See you guys! Thanks for the reviews and the read count! They are amazing (:


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